Re-Evaluating Houston's Downtown Living Initiative

Erin Mulvaney provides perspective on the current development investments occurring on the east side of Downtown Houston, via the case study provided by the Downtown Living Initiative. The program, approved in 2013, offers "up to $15,000 in tax rebates for each unit they built in a multifamily complex," according to Mulvaney.

For more on the development occurring in the area, coverage by Emily Wilkinson from March breaks down the details. Wilkinson also notes that the program hit its cap of 5,000 units, and "city planners are no longer taking applications for the program since the number of proposed units on already approved projects might change."

According to Mulvaney, the initiative deserves some of the credit for $1 billion in development investment occurring in the area—this some 20 years after the Houston Astros' Downtown ballpark gained approval in the hopes of stimulating investment in the neighborhood. In a separate article, Mulvaney describes the disappointing returns of the ballpark.

In yet another article, Mulvaney notes criticism of the Downtown Living Initiative's lack of mechanisms to ensure the construction of affordable housing, among the city's larger challenges regarding affordability.