New Homes for Stella Link

A: Generally, rent or mortgage payments should not exceed 30% of household gross income. Down payment assistance will be made available to help bridge the gap between a mortgage and the market-rate price for 51% of the homes that are considered attainable. Additionally, homebuyers purchasing attainable-rate homes must have lived in Houston on the date of Hurricane Harvey and earn up to 80% Area Median Income as determined by the Department Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

No, all homes will have the same construction quality, finishes and appliances.

A: Single Family Homes refer to homeownership, not the style or structure of the home. We are encouraging innovative design single-family detached, townhomes, condo, etc. that also maximize the amount of units available.

A: The selected developer will market when the homes are available to purchase. HCD will also inform the community through the HCD Homebuyers Hub page, HCD social media and through our New Homes for Stella Link email lists .

A: Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) operates independently of City of Houston. For more information about the property tax assessment, visit HCAD’s Understanding the Property Tax Process . The City will partner with a developer to build high quality single-family homes in a mixed-income community. The developer will use market-based research and community feedback to design and price the homes to ensure the new development’s market-rate price aligns with existing neighboring communities. Additionally, all market-rate and attainable-rate homes will be identical in quality and construction which will further ensure property taxes in the surrounding area should not be appreciably impacted by the development.

A: A Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) is a document used by the City to inform vendors of funding and contract opportunities. The NOFA will state the guidelines, design parameters, and scoring criteria for all interested developers to consider when designing their proposal.

A: The City will use the community engagement process, including hybrid community meetings and the Social Pinpoint tool, to determine whether or not to include HOA requirements in the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) guidelines.

A: The first step for every homebuyer will be to secure a 30-year fixed rate mortgage from a lender. For homebuyers purchasing a market-rate home, they will then continue the traditional homebuyer process.

Homebuyers purchasing an attainable-rate home will also need to attend a HUD certified eight (8) hour homebuyer education course, have lived in the City of Houston on the date of Hurricane Harvey, and earn up to 80% area median income as determined by HUD when purchasing the home. Down payment assistance of up to $135,000 will be available to close the “affordability gap” between what the homebuyer is able to attain through a mortgage and the market-rate price.

A: The City will host three hybrid (in-person and virtual) community engagement meetings to collect public feedback on the development. Additionally, the City has launched a Social Pinpoint site that allows the public to provide feedback on a mobile friendly website through the end of May.

The City will analyze the feedback and include it into the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for developers to respond to when submitting their proposal for evaluation.

A: The City will release a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) which will set out the parameters for the development. During the community engagement process, community members can leave feedback on design elements such as facades styles and colors they would like the developers to consider when designing their proposal.

Please note proposals will be evaluated on multiple criteria and not all of the community’s feedback may be implemented in the awarded proposal.

A: No, the City or developer cannot offer preference based on a potential homebuyer’s proximity to the development.

The Harvey Single Family Development Program is funded through Community Block Grant Development – Disaster Recovery funds intended to help Houstonians impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Awarding preference based on location within the City of Houston would put the development at risk of violating Fair Housing laws.

A: Per the Texas Education Agency , school districts assign children to schools by attendance zones, other assignment methods, or transfer policies. Visit the Houston Independent School District’s (HISD) School Search tool to learn the school your child will attend.

A: As part of the federally required due diligence process, HCD will commission a traffic study in the neighborhood after the preliminary site plan is completed. We encourage everyone to sign up for updates on the New Homes for Stella Link landing page we will update the community along the entire development process.

Additionally, HCD will work with other City of Houston departments to address community concerns.

A: All land tracts acquired by the City for the Harvey Single Family Development Program are located outside of floodways or 100-year flood zones. Additionally, all developments will provide detention volume that meet’s the City’s NEW storm detention requirements.

Please visit Houston Public Works to read about Storm Water details .

A: HCD will work with other City of Houston departments to address community concerns outside of HCD’s regulatory jurisdiction.

A: In addition to purchasing the land, The City is investing in infrastructure which includes sound and flood mitigation.. The City has hired an outside consultant to prepare a preliminary design rendering that will illustrate the size and dimension of the community Greenspace.