On June 24th, Houston City Councilmembers approved an agreement amending Texas Reinvestment Zone Number 2 (the Midtown zone) to link county funding with Midtown TIRZ structures, setting aside one-third of those funds for affordable housing.
Crucially, general funds are still being allocated towards debt service, and special districts are still able to collect and spend their own money, so this agreement should not meaningfully disrupt many pre-existing policies. Instead, it directs discretionary funding towards the critically low supply of housing in Midtown. Despite the potential for a strong economy so close to downtown, the lack of housing in Midtown had held the community back. These new funding sources, focusing on affordable and homelessness housing, are expected to help rejuvenate the area.
This is not the first time Houston has taken this approach. Over the past several years many zones, including Sharpstown and Hardy, have made similar deals. These communities have seen rapid population declines as living so close to downtown has priced many out of the area. However, due to their deals with Harris County, new affordable housing developments have been created, serving as bastions of security for these dwindling communities.