Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, MD, on Friday, announced that the Texas General Land Office (GLO) approved more than $41 million in disaster recovery funds to rehabilitate, repair and build 11 federally eligible affordable rental developments damaged by the 2018 and 2019 South Texas flooding of the Grande Valley River and Tropical Storm Imelda. In total, 832 new rental homes are being rebuilt or built and it is guaranteed that more than 86 percent of all units will house low to moderate income tenants.
“Consecutive disasters in southeast Texas and the Rio Grande Valley damaged affordable housing and left tenants with few options after storms,” said Commissioner Buckingham. “Developments like these are vital to rebuilding our communities and providing our first responders, teachers and workforce with safe, resilient and beautiful homes, thanks to the hard work of our team at the Texas General Land Office.”
The GLO allocated $41,660,000 of Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). U.S. Department of Transportation for the 2018/2019 Disaster Affordable Rental Program (ARP) in Cameron, Chambers, Harris, Hidalgo, Jefferson, Jim Wells, Liberty, Montgomery, Orange, San Jacinto, and Willacy counties. The program provides up to $5 million in reimbursement of eligible hard construction costs for the rehabilitation, reconstruction, and new construction of affordable multifamily housing developments.
The Cleveland Pioneer Crossing project will be located at 414 N. Holly Ave., Cleveland. Of the 32 new units, 26 will be devoted to low-income residents. The New Caney Royal Garden project, located at 22917 Gabriel Road, in New Caney, is a 32-unit building with 26 devoted to low-income residents. The New Caney Pioneer Project, located adjacent to the Royal Garden project on Gabriel Road, will have 12 units, 10 of which will be devoted to low-income residents.
No other state or territory has performed as well as Texas in the recovery from Hurricane Harvey. Thanks to the fantastic team at the Texas General Land Office, Texas has distributed nearly one billion more disaster recovery dollars to people and families in need than Florida, Puerto Rico, California, Georgia, Missouri and the Virgin Islands combined. The Texas General Land Office has proven to be the most efficient distributor of these funds and must continue to lead recovery efforts in our state. The GLO has rebuilt more than 10,000 homes for homeowners and tenants in Texas.
Texas GLO Disaster Affordable Rental Program 2018/2019
The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is managing more than $300 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) disaster recovery funds for long-term disaster recovery from significant flooding from the 2018 South Texas Floods, Tropical Storm Imelda, and the 2019 Rio Grande Valley Flood. The GLO allocated $41,660,000 in disaster recovery funds to rehabilitate, rebuild and build multi-family affordable housing units.
The GLO began accepting applications on May 1, 2021 and applications were closed on June 30, 2021. Projects were evaluated and rated through a points-based competitive system and awarded based on several factors, including the number of low to moderate income units and the type of construction with a maximum award of $5 million. In this program, applicants for funds must designate at least 51 percent of the units for low- to moderate-income families with rents limited to the limits of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Investment Association (HOME). Under HUD guidelines, a family is considered low-to-moderate income if it earns 80 percent or less of the area’s median household income (AMFI). Each apartment complex will be restricted to low-income housing for 20 years after completion of new construction and 15 years after completion of repairs.
For more information, visit https://recovery.texas.gov/2018-floods-2019-disasters/programs/2018-2019-affordable-rental/index.html.
Always improving the neighborhoods, except in the Elites ones.