City Of Houston And Partners Celebrated The Groundbreaking Of A New 130-Unit Apartment Home Community In South Houston
March 31, 2023 -- Houston, Texas -- City of Houston officials and partners celebrated the groundbreaking of OST Lofts, 5520 Old Spanish Trail, Houston, TX 77023, in Houston’s Gulfgate Riverview / Pine Valley Super Neighborhood earlier today.
The new community will add 130 apartment homes to the Houston housing inventory and includes 109 units reserved for Houstonians earning at or below 60% of the area median income.
Since entering office, Mayor Sylvester Turner committed to improving Houston’s housing stock by adding 7,000 multifamily apartment units for low-to-moderate income households.
“The City of Houston is proud of its holistic approach to housing that promotes healthy families,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “Our partnership with Donna Rickebacker, MREC Companies, and the Tejano Center for Community Concerns helps one generation by ensuring their cost of living is reasonable and also helps the next generation thrive by providing a free pre-kindergarten center that will equip the youngest of residents with the skills they need to succeed in life.”
The development will be a mixed-income apartment community rich in amenities such as a furnished community room, equipped fitness center, conference room, business center with computers, printer/scanners, a swimming pool, and a pavilion with picnic tables. The one-, two-, and three-bedroom units include granite countertops and washers and dryers. More importantly, the development includes a stand-alone Pre-Kindergarten School. The Pre-K will be available to the residents at no charge and open to the neighborhood.
“HCD is proud to support the construction of mixed-income rental communities throughout our city, especially in areas undergoing significant gentrification,” said Deputy Director Derek Sellers, Housing and Community Development. “As Houston continues to grow, developments like OST Lofts will ensure residents have affordable options in areas previously unattainable.”
The City of Houston contributed $19.3 million in Community Block Development Grant Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR17) funds toward the total $43.7 million construction cost for this development.
CBDG-DR17 funds are awarded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Texas General Land Office to provide affordable rental units for low-to-moderate-income households within the city of Houston boundaries that were directly impacted by Hurricane Harvey. The funds are administered by Houston’s Harvey Multifamily Program.
This community was developed in partnership with MREC Companies and the Tejano Center for Community Concerns. MREC Companies is an established for-profit developer/consultant of affordable multifamily properties. Other MREC and City of Houston projects include Edison Lofts, Somerset Lofts, Regency Lofts, and The Women’s Home Phase II. The Tejano Center for Community Concerns was established in 1992 in Houston’s East End. It serves as an agent for change, empowering neighborhood residents and creating a sustained community network of support and opportunity.
The City of Houston Housing and Community Development (HCD) department makes long-term investments to improve the lives of Houston residents by creating opportunities for every Houstonian to have a home they can afford in a community where they can thrive. Our department will invest approximately $450 million in federal, state, and local funds this fiscal year to construct and maintain affordable homes, reduce barriers to homeownership, support the work of social service providers, build public amenities, and facilitate disaster recovery efforts. Learn more about programs and resources for Houstonians at http://houstontx.gov/housing.
