Houston Housing Authority receives $50 million federal grant to transform Cuney Homes in Third Ward – Houston Public Media

At the Cuney Homes public housing complex in Houston’s Third Ward, city officials on Thursday accepted a $50 million federal grant to transform the neighborhood.

“Cuney Homes has long been a cornerstone of our community, providing a place of stability and support for countless families,” said City Council Member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, whose district includes Cuney Homes. “With this grant, we have the opportunity to reimagine and rebuild Cuney Homes, doubling our housing capacity and ensuring that current residents are prioritized.”

The 553-unit public housing complex was built in 1939. The plan will transform Cuney Homes into 1,115 mixed-income units, including multi-family buildings, duplexes, townhouses and condos.

Houston Housing Authority President and CEO David Northern described the plan as “transformative for a community like this.”

Dolores Ford, president of the Cuney Homes Resident Council, thanked local and federal officials who made the grant possible.

“It’s a historic, close-knit community,” Ford said. “Cuney Homes is a place where people can thrive.”

The project also aims to revitalize the surrounding neighborhood, with additional commercial space on Emancipation Avenue, as well as new parks, bike paths and public squares.

“I want to thank and congratulate the city, the housing authority and all of the partners here on what was truly a visionary application,” said Julia Gordon, federal housing commissioner for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The project aims to preserve and recognize the neighborhood’s historic elements. Many former slaves settled in the Third Ward in the late 1800s. Residents now face rising costs and potential displacement due to gentrification.

“What could be here is deeply rooted in what has been and deeply rooted in history,” Gordon said. “This whole neighborhood carries the weight of history, and we feel like we, too, carry the weight of history, and it’s our duty and our obligation, and our pleasure and our honor, to try to do something as ambitious as this project.”

Locally, HHA and the City of Houston added $538.5 million in public and private funding to support the plan.