Houston Housing Authority (HHA), formerly Housing Authority of the City of Houston (HACH), 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. [1]
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. [2]
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. [3] Later Joy Fitzgerald served as executive director. [4]
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. [1]
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; [5] this freeze was to be in effect until around the end of the year. [6]
All properties are in the City of Houston. [7] With two exceptions (as of 2019), each property is within the Houston Independent School District (HISD).
It is headquartered in western Houston. [71]
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 2640 Fountain View, Houston, Texas. [72]
Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center (SHMSTC), formerly known as Sam Houston High School is a high school located in the Hawthorne Place and Timber Garden subdivisions, in Houston, Texas, United States. Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center handles grades nine through twelve and is part of the Houston Independent School District. Before 1955, it was located in Downtown Houston.
The Fifth Ward is a community of Houston, Texas, United States, derived from a historical political district (ward), about 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Downtown. Its boundaries are Buffalo Bayou on the south, Jensen Drive on the west, Collingsworth Rd on the north, and Lockwood Drive on the east.
Heights High School, formerly John H. Reagan High School, is a senior high school located in the Houston Heights in Houston, Texas. It serves students in grades nine through twelve and is a part of the Houston Independent School District.
Northside High School, formerly Jefferson Davis High School, is a secondary school located at 1101 Quitman in the Near Northside neighborhood of Northside, Houston, Texas with a ZIP code of 77009. The school was previously named after Jefferson Davis, the only president of the Confederate States of America.
Phillis Wheatley High School is a secondary school located at 4801 Providence Street in Houston, Texas, United States with a ZIP code of 77020. Wheatley is a part of the Houston Independent School District. Wheatley, named after Phillis Wheatley, is located inside the 610 Loop in the Fifth Ward.
Edgar Gregory-Abraham Lincoln Education Center (GLEC) is a K-8 school located at 1101 Taft in the Fourth Ward area of Houston, Texas, United States. Gregory-Lincoln is a part of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and has a fine arts magnet program that takes students in both the elementary and middle school levels. Originally built in 1966 as Lincoln Junior and Senior High School, it later operated as Lincoln Junior High School until Gregory Elementary School merged into it in 1980, forming Gregory-Lincoln. The school moved into its current building in 2008; the rebuilding was delayed due to concerns that U.S. Civil War-era graveyards would be disturbed by the rebuilding process.
Greater Greenspoint, also referred to as the North Houston District, is a 7-square-mile (18 km2) business district and a suburban neighborhood in northern Harris County, Texas, United States, located mostly within the city limits of Houston. Centered around the junction of Interstate 45 and Texas State Highway Beltway 8 near George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the area is a classic example of a planned edge city. The initial 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) retail and office development centered around Greenspoint Mall was a project of the Friendswood Development Company during the 1970s and early 1980s.
The First Ward of Houston, which is located inside the 610 Loop, is one of the city's historic wards. It was originally the center of the business district for the city, and was strategically located at the intersection of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou, near an area now known as Allen's Landing. It was one of the original four wards in Houston when it was created in 1840. It was defined as all area within the city limits of Houston north of Congress Street and west of Main Street.
Ross Shaw Sterling High School, also known as Sterling Aviation High School, is a secondary school located in Houston, Texas. Sterling, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Houston Independent School District. The school was named after Ross S. Sterling. Sterling has Houston ISD's magnet program for Aviation Sciences.
Near Northside is a historic neighborhood located in Northside, Houston, Texas. Near Northside is primarily occupied by people of Hispanic descent.
Aldine Senior High School is a public high school located in the Greenspoint district of northern Houston, Texas, United States. It is part of the Aldine Independent School District. The senior high school campus serves grades 10 through 12. The separate Aldine Ninth Grade School hosts students in grade 9.
East Aldine is a state management district in Harris County, Texas, United States, mostly in unincorporated areas, with some territory in the City of Houston. The East Aldine Improvement District, also known as the Aldine Management District, governs the area. Portions of the district coincide with the boundaries of the Aldine census-designated place. One park owned by the City of Houston, Keith-Wiess Park, is within the district limits.
The Northside is a district of Houston, Texas, United States. It is within the Greater Northside Management District.
The Airline Improvement District is a management district in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States, in Greater Houston and is located entirely within the postal zip code of 77037.
Near Northwest is a 16-square-mile (41 km2) district located in Harris County, Texas, partly within the city limits of Houston and partly in an unincorporated area. It is governed by the Near Northwest Management District, with its headquarters at the White Oak Conference Center, 7603 Antoine Dr, Houston, Texas.
Historic Oaks of Allen Parkway Village, formerly Allen Parkway Village (APV) and San Felipe Courts Apartments, is a public housing complex in the northern Fourth Ward, Houston, Texas, operated by the Houston Housing Authority (HHA). Allen Parkway Village occupies 37 acres (15 ha) of land.
William B. Travis Elementary School is a public elementary school in the Woodland Heights area of Houston, Texas. It is a part of the Houston Independent School District (HISD).
Cuney Homes is a public housing complex in the Third Ward area of Houston, Texas. It is operated by the Houston Housing Authority (HHA), and was the first complex opened by the authority.
Harris County Housing Authority (HCHA) is the low-income housing and public housing authority of Harris County, Texas in Greater Houston. Its headquarters are in southern Houston. It mainly serves areas outside of Houston, as the Houston Housing Authority serves that city.
Susan V. Clayton Homes was a public housing unit in the Second Ward area of the East End district of Houston. Operated by the Houston Housing Authority (HHA), formerly the Housing Authority of the City of Houston (HACH), it was along Runnels Street, along the Buffalo Bayou and east of Downtown Houston. It was adjacent to railroad tracks and warehouses. It had 296 units.