Houston Chronicle

Ground is broken on housing project

$45 million developmen­t in Midtown will provide services and homes for the region

- By R.A. Schuetz

A 149-unit developmen­t that will provide affordable housing for unhoused people broke ground this week in Midtown. The $45 million complex, being developed by the nonprofit NHP Foundation, is expected to open in May 2024.

The Houston region’s main strategy for reducing homelessne­ss is moving people into permanent housing, coupled with support services such as social workers, healthcare and employment resources. Since 2011, the region’s yearly count of the homeless population suggests the strategy has been a success. Houston, Harris County and their partner organizati­ons have reduced, by 64 percent, the number of people staying in shelters or in cars, tents or other places not meant for habitation in Harris and Fort Bend counties.

There are two main ways to secure permanent supportive housing — renting units from landlords, which takes less upfront investment but is impacted by the local rental market, and building housing specifical­ly for that purpose. The NHP Foundation, which has faced criticism from tenants in the past, is among the organizati­ons helping build permanent supportive housing in Houston. It has also constructe­d and operated Temenos Place Apartments, which is dedicated to permanentl­y housing and providing support services to people who’ve lived without homes.

“With RoseMary’s Place,

NHPF hopes to help end chronic homelessne­ss in Houston,” Neal Drobenare, the NHP Foundation’s lead developer of the new developmen­t, said in a statement. “The stable housing and services provided will give residents opportunit­ies to live happy and productive lives.”

While the foundation’s new constructi­on for those without homes has been celebrated, an older affordable housing developmen­t it owns drew fire this past summer for poor conditions. Unlike RoseMary’s Place or Temenos Place, Cleme Manor does not specialize in providing housing for those who were formerly homeless. The uproar over dayslong power outages, sewer backups and pest infestatio­ns at Cleme Manor led Harris County Commission­er’s Court to approve a measure that attaches a condition to funding for RoseMary’s Place: the NHP Foundation would have to agree to more frequent inspection­s, a stricter repair timeline and rights for tenants to organize without fear of retaliatio­n, among other mandates.

Drobenare said the foundation had addressed the issues facing Cleme Manor: “NHPF is consistent­ly working to ensure

that residents never face the situation that occurred last year.”

Harris County provided $10 million of the $45 million budget for RoseMary’s Place. Houston provided an additional $19 million. Harris County and Houston both tapped disaster recovery funds from Hurricane Harvey for the project. A total of $14 million came from tax credits, and $2 million was loaned by Magnificat House Inc., a nonprofit that has been working with Houston’s homeless population since 1968.

Magnificat House is closely involved in the project. The nonprofit owns the land at 3300 Caroline St., which it has leased to the NHP Foundation to provide support services to the building’s residents. The developmen­t will be named after Magnificat House’s founder, Rose Mary Badami.

“The Magnificat community is overjoyed to welcome RoseMary’s Place, and its 149 residents, onto our campus and into our hearts,” said Victor Hay, Magnificat House’s executive director, in a statement.

RoseMary’s Place will be a four-story building with efficiency apartments and space for property management, social service providers and gathering areas. There will be a warming kitchen and a 24-hour staffed entry desk.

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