County snaps up Metro lot after public housing furor
Pinemont park-ride site will be used as a Harris services center in deal worth about $3.5 million, officials say
Metro’s board on Thursday accepted an eleventh-hour offer from Harris County officials, who jumped at the chance to buy a transit agencyowned site after opposition emerged to a plan to build housing for low-income families.
The board unanimously agreed to sell the former Pinemont Park and Ride site to the county, which intends to use it for a center giving residents closer access to a tax office and other services. The price is about $3.5 million, roughly the same amount offered by the Houston Housing Authority.
The decision drew the immediate attention of a prominent housing advocate, who said he might take legal action if he finds evidence that the sale was specifically structured to keep the housing authority from acquiring the land.
The authority worked for months to secure the site, with plans for a development of 300 apartments for working, low-income families.
Metro’s sale of the 14.8acre site to the county is subject to approval from the Federal Transit Administration because some federal money was used to purchase the property. Metro might be able to keep the federal funds if the reuse serves a public purpose. Federal officials previously said the housing authority plan would satisfy this requirement.
Residents in the area, when they learned of the housing project, vigorously opposed it. Dozens showed up at various Metro and community meetings, saying the site would be better used for commercial development. The area around Pinemont, between Loop 610 and the Sam Houston Tollway, includes a mix of single-family houses and apartments.
Metro board member and real estate committee co-chairman Jim Robinson said the residents made a compelling case.
“Because of the large amount of high-density residential…. I felt that is just more multi-family housing than a single-family residential community can operate with,” he said.
Residents voiced a number of common concerns about subsidized housing, saying it would increase crime and reduce the value of their property. Many said they felt more stores and services, rather than residences, are what the area needs.
Some disappointed
“This is a good thing you’ve done,” Forest West resident Kirk Waldron told the Metro board after officials approved the county sale. “You took away our park and ride …. now you have given us something back.”
The decision disappointed housing authority officials, who said they had developed a good project aimed at attracting working families.
“The unfortunate thing here is Metro’s process didn’t allow us to do our jobs,” said Lance Gilliam, chairman of the housing authority. “We were never able to communicate with residents who we are and what we were going to build.”
As is true in most cities, the need for low-cost housing in Houston far exceeds supply. People sit on public housing waiting lists for years; some live in substandard housing, in shelters or on the streets in the meantime.
Robinson, who was appointed to the Metro board by Harris County’s commissioners and is a former chief appraiser for the county appraisal district, said he approached the commissioners Monday about the residents’ concerns. County officials quickly submitted a bid, suggesting the site was ideal for a sorely needed service center.
Closed a long time
The county deal also suited Metro, with members saying they were torn between trying to respect the community’s needs and wanting to work with a government partner to find a good use for the site, which closed more than a year ago because of construction to widen U.S. 290.
Board chairman Gilbert Garcia said the county can close on the property in 30 days, more quickly than the housing authority could.
Metro officials said comments from local elected officials influenced their decision. Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencort urged Metro to choose the county plan, while Democratic state Rep. Sylvester Turner of Houston opposed the housing authority sale.
Garcia said the board’s responsibility was to listen and respond to public concerns. “Rather than go through more angst, I think this is the right solution,” Garcia said.
It’s unclear if the decision will end the dispute, however. The quick reversal drew the attention of a fair housing advocate who already has raised concerns about the Houston area’s commitment to provide affordable housing.
“We are extremely concerned and disappointed that the county would take an action that appears to be aimed at stopping an affordable housing plan that is sorely needed in Houston,” said John Henneberger, co-director of the Texas Low Income-Housing Information Service. The group is an Austin-based nonprofit that advocates for fair housing and local reforms.
“We want to understand what went into this, and it is oddly coincidental in the least,” Henneberger said, adding that the agency is considering legal action.
‘Fear and prejudice’
Because Harris County receives money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, it agrees to various stipulations. One of those is that it “affirmatively furthers fair housing,” Henneberger explained.
Though one incident of blocking an affordable housing development isn’t necessarily proof of denying low-income residents and minorities fair treatment, it could be indicative of a pattern, he said.
Henneberger said neighborhood leaders often argue that subsidized housing projects are not the right fit, or are too dense, for their communities.
“The real cause of the operation is fear and prejudice against people of color and lower incomes,” he said.
A recent recipient of a $625,000 MacArthur Foundation “genius grant,” Henneberger said the money will help his agency fight housing denials, potentially including a legal challenge to the Pinemont sale.
“Something has to change in Houston,” he said. “It is not compliant with the law to block affordable housing.”