City launches home building program

Houston City Council has launched a new home construction program, seeking to fill a gap in the area’s booming housing market.

The council approved a $6.7 million agreement with a dozen homebuilders and with the Houston Land Bank, the agency that owns the lots on which the homes would be built.

The funds will come from the city’s annual block grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. These dollars were earmarked for single-family housing when they were received in 2016 and 2017, and would be reallocated to new construction rather than, for instance, repairs.

Federal rules typically prohibit these grants from being used to build new homes, but the city received a waiver after Hurricane Harvey, Housing and Community Development Director Tom McCasland said, arguing more flexibility was needed to replace housing lost in the storm.