Photo by: Photos by Yi-Chin Lee/Illustration by Susan Barber (Photos by Yi-Chin Lee/Illustration by Susan Barber)
For nearly 15 years, Houston's Midtown development zone quietly bought hundreds of lots in and around Third Ward as part of a large-scale effort to slow gentrification and build affordable housing in the historic Black neighborhood.
But the Midtown development zone's largest housing expense? A half-empty, $22 million office tower no one lives in.
According to a Houston Chronicle analysis, if Midtown had put the housing money it spent on the office building and accompanying parking garage into actual housing, at the per-unit cost of the adjacent apartment complex, it could have built 72 additional units.
That office tower, for many Third Ward civic leaders, has become a symbol of Midtown's broader struggle to seize the opportunity provided by its affordable housing funds.
The tower isn't the only questionable use of those dollars. Former Midtown executive Todd Edwards and two landscaping vendors are facing felony charges for allegedly misusing $8.5 million in housing funds.
Read more about the Houston Midtown development zone in this investigative series from Mike Morris.
📰 Top Stories
- EMERGENCY RESOURCES ACTIVATED: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to prepare disaster relief resources as temperatures across the state continue to fall below freezing.
- THE 'ENRON EGG': The very unserious company that took over the defunct Enron brand on Monday unveiled its supposedly "groundbreaking" product: the Enron Egg. Leadership claims it's a "micro-nuclear reactor" capable of powering entire homes.
- ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER VIRUS: Reports of human metapneumovirus cases surging in northern China during the winter season have been circulating on news outlets internationally. Here's what to know about the virus and how it spreads.
- KEEPING CROWDS SAFE AFTER NOLA ATTACK: The Bourbon Street, New Orleans attack raises questions about the best ways to protect crowds during large events. What are Houston's strategies and plans? Here's what to know.
- IN HIS REBRANDING ERA: Houston City Council member Edward Pollard has proposed rebranding his district into its own "city" as he increases the number of services available to residents.
🧠 Quiz of the Week
Photo by: Houston Association Of Realtors / Realty Of America
One of the initial homes to be built in The Woodlands, the planned Houston suburb created in 1974, has hit the market — but with some modern updates. Can you guess the price? Take a stab at it.
☝️ One Last Word
Could you imagine if Post Malone rolled up to your job and tipped you $20,000?
Well, one Houston bartender, Renee Brown, doesn't have to imagine — it happened to her on Christmas Eve.
She's a single mother of one, whom she homeschools, and works two jobs.
What a sweet story. Posty for the win!
— Yasmeen Khalifa
Puzzle of the Day: Flipart
Complete the puzzle by finding a configuration where no pieces overlap, and no empty spaces remain.
Play now
