State housing agency awards $277,000 to repair Tidwell Estates housing development damaged by Hurricane Ike
AUSTIN, TX – October 16, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) today awarded $277,676 in disaster recovery funds to help restore Houston’s stock of affordable rental housing damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Ike. The award is expected to bring greater stability to the lives of low income tenants and help jump start further redevelopment activities in the region.
TDHCA will help finance repairs to the Tidwell Estates Apartments, an existing 132-unit affordable rental property that suffered extensive roof damage as the result of high winds. In exchange for this assistance, the developers must set aside at least 51 percent of all units to serve tenants earning no more than 80 percent of the area median family income.
For Houston and Harris County, this equals an annual income of $51,050 for a family of four.
“The Houston region was devastated by Hurricane Ike, and a lack of housing affordable for the city’s workforce continues to hinder recovery efforts,” said Michael Gerber, TDHCA Executive Director. “We stand ready to address these needs and to help finance affordable rental communities which will, in turn, help create construction jobs, additional taxes and fees to local governments, and the potential to revitalize entire neighborhoods.”
Today’s award were part of $1.3 billion in federal hurricane disaster recovery funds allocated to the state just over six months ago by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in response to hurricanes Ike and Dolly.
Of this amount, approximately $620 million has been made available to TDHCA to administer housing programs related to the state’s recovery efforts, with $58.8 million specifically dedicated to repairing or replacing Texas’ stock of affordable rental housing damaged or destroyed by these storms.
Hurricane Ike made landfall near Galveston on September 13, 2008, with a significant storm surge and winds topping out at 110 miles per hour. Damages have been estimated to run as high as $29 billion throughout a 34-county region of Southeast Texas.
About The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is the state agency responsible for affordable housing, community services, energy assistance, colonia housing programs, and disaster recovery housing programs. It currently administers over $1 billion through for-profit, nonprofit, and local government partnerships to deliver local housing and community-based opportunities and assistance to Texans in need.
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Contact:
Gordon Anderson 512.475.4743
Jill McFarren 512.475.2844
