A controversial workforce housing program lambasted by taxing entities, and alternately praised by housing advocates, has been put on hold pending further review by new commissioners.
May 28, the Corpus Christi Housing Authority Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to pump the brakes on contracts and pending agreements with management of privately owned apartment complexes that would, if approved, grant property tax exemptions in return for workforce housing.
The five-member board includes three new members, several of whom shortly before taking their positions as commissioners voiced interest in focusing on low-income housing — as opposed to the workforce housing, which targets residents earning between 60% and 80% of the area median income.
That translates to roughly $40,000 to $50,000 per year, Corpus Christi Housing Authority CEO Gary Allsup told the board.
The temporary program suspension comes in the aftermath of outcry by taxing entities — to include the city of Corpus Christi, Nueces County and Del Mar College — that the program would take hundreds of millions of dollars off the tax rolls, cutting short revenue for local government budgets by millions.
Allsup, after the meeting, said he agreed that it would be beneficial to give more time for consideration of the program.
“Given all the attention that this has had publicly, I think it makes perfect sense for the board to take a pause, look and see what’s going on, understand more of what’s going on … and what’s really at issue here,” he said.
The controversy
Supporters have defended the program as a way to meet demand for sorely needed housing for area “workforce” — a segment of the population that earns too much money to qualify for low-income housing but too little to avoid financial struggle in market-rate housing options.
Allsup has described the category as those “caught in the middle.”
Under the program, the housing authority acquires apartment complex properties, making the property tax-exempt. Apartment management then makes half of its unit inventory available for workforce housing, dedicating those units to lower rents considered affordable to those income brackets.
The housing authority has closed acquisitions on 13 apartment complex properties, Nueces County Appraisal District records show.
Another eight apartment complexes are standing in the wings for planned acquisitions, the board’s agenda showed.
The property statuses are mixed. Some have closed, some have been issued memoranda of understanding, and some have been issued memoranda of understanding and are nearing closure, Allsup told the board.
Early, uncertified appraisals of the 13 apartment complex properties already acquired total at least $330 million, according to appraisal district records.
The taxable value taken out of the mix could mean the loss of about $3.5 million in the city’s 2026 fiscal year budget and about $1.1 million in lost tax revenue for Del Mar College, officials have said.
Appraisals of properties pending acquisition total about $235.5 million, said Commissioner Greg Smith, a former Corpus Christi City Council member.
Why there was a workforce housing program
Putting the program on hold will give new board members a chance to become more familiar with the subject matter, said former mayor and Commissioner Joe McComb, pointing out that new members — himself, as well as Smith and school counselor Judith Gonzalez-Rodriguez — had about 10 days between their appointment by Mayor Paulette Guajardo and the first board meeting.
In the vote, commissioners agreed to “pause” all real estate transactions, property closures and issuances of memoranda related to the workforce housing program.
The idea behind the program had been to support a local workforce described by board Chair Cathy Mehne as representing “teachers, health care workers, first responders, military service, industry employees and many others who earn 80% or less of our area’s median income.”
Although there have been questions and concerns raised about the program, it is legally permitted, and “while the properties are exempted from the local property tax, they provide a significant long-term vital public purpose by addressing the growing need for quality housing options for working families in the city,” she added.
Doing so encourages a healthy community and the economy, Mehne said, asserting that although there is an impact to local government budgets, there is a “shared goal to provide options for working families who are struggling to find quality housing.”
Moving forward
It’s important that the housing authority work with local governments, Smith said, recommending that housing authority attorneys “get some dialogue going.”
It’s expected the workforce housing program will return to the board for discussion, although the timeframe of when that may occur isn’t established, McComb said.
He added that he had “a sense that we need to focus on helping the real low-income people who need some help.”
“This other stuff … that’s for the private sector,” McComb said. “We’ve got other issues we need to be focused on.”
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi Housing Authority is pausing a controversial housing program. Here’s why.
Reporting by Kirsten Crow, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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