Houston Housing Authority, formerly Housing Authority of the City of Houston, is the public housing authority in Houston, Texas. The Mayor of Houston appoints the board of directors of the HHA, but it itself is not a department of the city government. Most of its funding originates from the Federal Government of the United States. In 2002 Mike Snyder of the Houston Chronicle wrote that the HHA had "considerable autonomy" and often operated at a "distance" from the city authorities, making it "far more independent" from municipal authority than the actual City of Houston Department of Housing and Community Development.
History
One year after the passage of the Housing Act of 1937 from the federal government, Houston City Council established the HHA, and in the following year its first public housing properties opened. At one time William McClellan served as the executive director of HACH. Beginning in 1977 its finances were no longer balanced. In 1982 Mayor Kathy Whitmire appointed an African-American named Earl Phillips as the executive director. Later Joy Fitzgerald served as executive director. There was considerable controversy involving the 1996 redevelopment of Allen Parkway Village in the Fourth Ward into Historic Oaks of Allen Parkway Village, which halved the capacity of the complex. In April 2017 budget cuts in the federal government occurred, leading the HHA to terminate some of the housing choice vouchers it had already given away and stop issuing new ones; this freeze was to be in effect until around the end of the year.
* This is the management of thirty single-family houses in the Fourth Ward designated for HHA tenants. Residents of the Fourth Ward are zoned to Gregory-Lincoln Education Center for K-8 and Heights High School.
Irvington Village - Northside
* Lenwood Johnson, an activist who spearheaded a campaign against the destruction of Allen Parkway Village, lived in Irvington Village after APV's redevelopment. By 2001 the HHA was trying to evict him, stating he owed $4,000 for the operation of utilities. In 2001, after the HHA agreed to provide a moving service, Johnson agreed to vacate.
* Zoned schools: C. Martinez Elementary School, Marshall Middle School, and Northside High School.
* Kennedy Place first opened as a 60 unit development in 1982. The HHA used $7.8 million, including some federal stimulus funds, to redevelop the housing. The demolition of the old Kennedy Place began on December 28, 2009. In January 2011 the new Kennedy Place opened, with 108 units.
* This is a high-rise facility. it had 185 residents. In 2017 Hurricane Harvey caused flooding but not any power outages. The HHA began removing residents, but Harris County Civil District Judge Daryl L. Moore gave an injunction. In 2019 the HHA announced plans to rebuild the complex, but stated that for now residents need to move to other accommodations.
Bellerive
Lyerly
The Pinnacle at Wilcrest
Telephone Rd.
Villas on Winkler
Headquarters
It is headquartered in western Houston. At one time the agency had its headquarters at Allen Parkway Village, and therefore did not have to pay rent to house its administrative facilities. As conditions at APV deteriorated, the agency moved its headquarters to River Oaks.
