Houston will begin construction in April on the Trinity East Village Senior Apartments, a 90-unit affordable housing project for seniors. The development will be located on land owned by Trinity East United Methodist Church in the Third Ward neighborhood, according to a state filing. The project is scheduled for completion in October 2027.
All apartments in the four-story building will be one-bedroom units designated for people over the age of 62, as outlined in a memo from the Houston Housing Authority. The NHP Foundation and Trinity East Village CDC are collaborating on this initiative.
The estimated construction cost is $33 million, which will be financed through low income housing tax credits. The City of Houston plans to provide $4 million in soft financing, while the Houston Housing Authority intends to contribute $2 million.
This approach follows a trend known as Yes in God’s Backyard (YIGBY), where developers use land owned by religious organizations for affordable housing projects. Religious groups are among the largest landowners nationally.
California passed legislation two years ago to make it easier to build affordable housing on properties owned by religious organizations and nonprofit colleges, making an estimated 171,000 acres available for such developments. In Texas, similar proposals were introduced but did not advance during the last legislative session. Critics like The Real Estate Council argued that YIGBY projects should include requirements for affordable units, which were absent from the proposed bill.
Trinity East Village is expected to serve mainly residents relocating from Cuney Homes, Houston’s oldest public housing complex built in the 1930s. According to reports from earlier this year, Cuney Homes residents have been advised to prepare for relocation as part of redevelopment plans by the Houston Housing Authority. Two-thirds of Trinity East Village’s units will be reserved for these residents.
Other Texas cities are also seeing similar projects involving church-owned land being developed into affordable or mixed-use communities anchored by religious institutions.
