Houston has identified roughly 414 acres of potential housing sites across the city, much of it owned by churches and other faith-based institutions. City leaders say the land could eventually support as many as 1,000 single-family homes or up to 7,200 apartments—but those are estimates of possible capacity, not a count of homes built or underway. The initiative explores repurposing underused faith properties in partnership with developers.
According to Click2Houston, Houston's effort includes faith communities exploring ways to repurpose underused properties.
Faith Properties and Affordable Housing
The city is exploring ways to repurpose underused faith properties for housing.
Summit Aims to Connect Landowners With Expertise
Houston City Councilmember Tiffany Thomas is hosting the third annual Faith and Affordable Housing Summit, which brings together faith leaders, developers, bankers, nonprofits and city officials, according to Click2Houston's reporting. The summit serves as a collaboration and resource-sharing platform, connecting faith communities with assistance and partners. Residents and faith leaders are invited to attend.
U.S. Rep. Al Green has allocated $1.2 million for faith leaders in Houston's 9th Congressional District, and the effort includes access to pre-development funding, the outlet reports.
A Nationwide Pattern Behind the Local Push
Houston's approach echoes a wider trend. Faith-based organizations across the country are increasingly exploring the use of unused or underused property to help address housing shortages, as MyHoustonMajic reports. Atlanta, San Antonio and Seattle have each forged initiatives encouraging faith institutions to consider building affordable housing on their surplus properties, according to Urban Land Institute reporting on the so-called YIGBY, or Yes in God's Backyard, movement.
Elsewhere, the scale of these projects varies widely. The Emory Fellowship and Emory Beacon of Light built the $58 million Beacon Center on church property, featuring 99 units of housing for low-income families and permanent supportive housing, per the same Urban Land Institute report. Atlanta First United Methodist Church and Evergreen Real Estate Group broke ground on a mixed-use development with 320 housing units, 85 percent of them designated affordable, while the Church of God in Christ has announced a partnership aimed at eventually producing 18,000 affordable rental and ownership units along with 72 community facilities. In California alone, faith-based organizations and nonprofit colleges own more than 170,000 acres that could be developed for affordable housing or other uses, the same outlet notes.
The stakes in Houston are considerable. The region ranks third nationally, behind only Las Vegas and Orlando, for housing shortages affecting residents with extremely low incomes, according to the Houston Chronicle. The private market is not meeting the needs of the city's lowest earners, the Chronicle reported, even in a city known for its relatively permissive development rules.
