Houston's oldest public housing complex Cuney Homes to be torn down and rebuilt

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston's oldest public housing complex, Cuney Homes, will soon be torn down and rebuilt.

Houston City Council voted on Wednesday to move forward with a $50 million federal grant to complete the project.

The money will also be rolled into other projects associated with a broader community revitalization project outlined in the grant proposal. The proposal states there have been $671.2 million pledged to the project through public-private partnerships. Grant authors stressed that the figure could change, describing it as a best-case scenario. For example, they expect some of the money from grants that have yet to be secured. The money will be put toward everything from bike paths to workforce training.

"I think when people see that you're investing, really investing in their environment and helping them have a much better surrounding, it shows first of all that you care and that it's not just lip service," Councilmember Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, who represents Cuney Homes residents, said.

The plan states that Cuney Homes residents will be given vouchers, which will enable them to move to any property that has space and accepts them. However, Evans-Shabazz said displaced residents who wish to remain in the neighborhood will be guaranteed space in Third Ward affordable housing properties.

The grant requires the Houston Housing Authority to have a "build first model." This means alternate housing must be constructed before residents are displaced.

Third Ward properties and Cuney Homes residents may relocate to include the Manson Family Place. It will provide affordable housing for single mothers and fathers with children under age five. Seniors will be offered housing at a low-income tax credit property known as the Trinity Project -- named for its partner, the Trinity East United Church. The Housing Authority also purchased a lot for development off of Emancipation West. The lot was previously at the center of a Midtown Redevelopment Authority corruption case.

Cuney Homes resident Tammie Rogers told ABC13 she is eager to leave the property.

"The safety of my life, I'm in fear here," she said.

Rogers said several times each month she is approached on her porch and told to shelter inside her rat-infested apartment by gang members.

"When I'm sitting out here, if they're having retaliation with someone, they'll come and tell me to go inside because they're about to start shooting. They call me auntie. Some say mama. When they shoot, (law enforcement) doesn't come," Rogers said.

Rogers said she is too afraid to report the violence, fearing retaliation herself.

"Horrible. It's like a hell hole here," she said.

There have been eight homicides in the neighborhood surrounding Cuney Homes in the last 12 months, according to ABC13's Neighborhood Safety Tracker. The area includes the University of Houston and Texas Southern University. The four-year homicide rate in the area is nearly 62 per 100,000.

"I hear now that they're gonna demolish (Cuney Homes) and that's the best news ever. They're gonna upgrade the ghetto to 2024 units. That's a wonderful idea," Rosalind Wilson, whose mother has lived at Cuney Homes for nearly two decades, said.

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