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Moneymakers: Alexander Muhammad

Community project lets builder branch out

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Carlos Antonio Rios/Chronicle

"A lot of people need homes, and I want to stretch more into the affordable housing market." -- Alexander Muhammad

When Project Row Houses, the public art project that renovated 22 shotgun homes in the historic Third Ward to provide housing for single mothers and artists, wanted to build duplexes, it needed help.

It already had a design provided and test-built by the Rice Building Workshop, which is affiliated with the university's architecture school. But the not-for-profit wanted an African-American contractor who lives and works in Third Ward to build a modified two-unit version on four adjoining lots.

It found Alexander Muhammad, president of Eastern Design Homebuilders and bearer of the graduate master builder designation bestowed by the National Association of Home Builders.

Last week, he took time out from inspecting the nearly complete duplexes on a mud-clogged street behind the white row houses to talk with Chronicle reporter Shannon Buggs about this job.

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Q: What else have you built or will you be building in Third Ward?

A: I've built three custom homes in Riverside Terrace that cost $220,000 and up. They're all in West MacGregor Estates.

I did a little refurbishing of the mosque in Riverside Terrace. And the mosque is getting ready to build a new structure for elderly housing, with businesses on the first floor that will be across the street. That should start in January and I'm going to do that. This is the first multi-unit project I've done.

Q: How did you get involved with the Project Row House Community Development Corp.?

A: Minister Robert Muhammad met with the project manager, Antoine Bryant, and I came to meet with Project Row House after that.

Knowing that this was a community project and that they want to do more, my fees were negotiable. But I really can't discount my workers. They have to do the work for a certain price.

Normally, what I would actually charge for doing a house, I really wouldn't take anything less than $25,000.

Q: What was the most difficult part of the building process?

A: The foundation was the most different thing that we did and the most important part. It's called an adjustable pier and beam, and it was designed by Mr. Danny Samuels at Rice University.

When a house gets unlevel, you can adjust it by turning a bolt versus hiring a company to come out and jack it up. You can save a lot of money that way.

Q: What happened on this project that surprised you?

A: There were some design things that I had not seen before. The subfloor is also the finished floor. It's 2-by-6 tongue-and-groove treated planks.

And there was not that much theft. I thought we might have a lot of stuff stolen. A few pieces came up missing, but nothing on the scale of a $1,000 or more.

We were building four houses at one time, and there was a lot of material laying around all the time.

But nothing big came up missing, and that was surprising.

Everyone is real nice out here.

Q: Will you be expanding your business to include more commercial projects? What type of construction do you prefer to do?

A: Residential is what I like to do. It's what I have a lot of experience in doing, and it's what I want to master. A lot of people need homes, and I want to stretch more into the affordable housing market.

A lot of people, when they want a house, they usually go to the production builders, get a brochure and bring that to me. They don't envision sketching out their own homes. But you can do that even if you don't have a lot of money. That's how I'm building my own home. It's going to be right near the George R. Brown Convention Center on Dallas at St. Charles streets. I don't know if they call that Third Ward anymore.

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  • 3 months later...
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And reaction to the Third Ward plan:

Jan. 25, 2005, 11:11PM

Response is mixed to Third Ward proposal

Redevelopment plan attracts praise, concerns

By BETTY L. MARTIN

Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

RESOURCES

PLAN HIGHLIGHTS

The proposed redevelopment plan for the Third Ward, based on 138 design-preference surveys submitted by residents, calls for the following:

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is either good or bad depending on what side of the gentrification issue you're on. It's obvious the Southeast Management District wants to attract some addition tax base from commercial developers and with this "link" to MetroRail are they trying to attract the first residential developer east of 288?

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Wow! I'm so happy to hear this becuz Third Ward is such an important neighnorhood to Houston and with its close proximity to downtown, i think it should get more attention.

I also think that the triangular region bounded by 288 and OST and I-45 has a lot of potential due to its proximity to downtown and because it is home to UH and TSU. I am actually surprised that these intuitions haven

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  • 7 months later...

Any thoughts on this area? Anyone heard of new projects going in? The area has seen a considerable amount of change over the past 5 years that I've been through. A handful of new retail centers and redevelopments have come in, and CVS has a brand new corner new location. Crime used to be the biggest inhibitor, but that seems to be going away marginally every year. And I've seen scattered new residential single family and multi-family developments, but nothing sweeping the area as of yet.

Would love to hear what everyone else knows of this area.

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Crime's not as low as it could be there. With UofH there, you would think that the area would have redeveloped more over the last ten years.

If anything, part of east midtown used to be greater 3rd ward (I think). So maybe there are signs of life. I would expect more gentrification before anything symbolic of the neighborhood though.

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  • 6 months later...
Guest danax
A very interesting and recent article. It's long, but its a good read.

http://governing.com/articles/3houston.htm

Thanks to kev33 for posting this article in the "Questions on the East End" thread. It seems worthy of spawning its own topic.

3rd Ward is clearly not a part of the Midtown TIRZ. Garnet Coleman is pulling a Robin Hood move by highjacking the TIRZ proceeds for his own admitted agenda in preserving his 3rd Ward power-base.

This could still work out for Midtown if the board of directors were to get highjacked by people who actually want to improve Midtown. Then the increased land values in 3rd Ward would prove to have been good investments.....for Midtown.

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This was taken from the last paragraph of the photo essay from the above link. Can anyone who is anti-gentrification argue this point with only facts?

If not, my belief all along that 3rd ward gentrification fears are all imaginary, will hold firm.

I'm not sure there are many anti-gentrification types on this forum. Rather, ther are many people who wish for gentrification to improve the neighborhood, rather than destroy it. There have been articles posted on other threads that have suggested that the remaining older or poor residents are not hurt by gentrification as much as feared. In fact, local property taxing entities all have senior citizen tax rates that drastically lower rates on the elderly. Adding the 10% maximum property tax increase, and the bite, while still painful to a fixed income couple, is manageable.

While the myth certainly sounded true, studies seem to show that the remaining residents enjoy the gentrification more than they are hurt by it.

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Wow, only my second post on this forum and it spawned its own thread! Anyway, so does the Third Ward not include the area we've referred to as "the East End"? Does Garnet Coleman's district include that (East End) area? Thanks.

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I'm not sure there are many anti-gentrification types on this forum. Rather, ther are many people who wish for gentrification to improve the neighborhood, rather than destroy it.

Agreed. I was arguing for historic preservation in the Heights with the idea that it could help neighborhood stability, maintain architectural quality, and increase property values. On the other hand, to "bank" land with the purpose of keeping a neighborhood cheap and full of rental properties strikes me as insane. The whole TIRZ concept is to provide an incentive for improved neighborhood value. This seems like TIRZ abuse to me.

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Guest danax
Wow, only my second post on this forum and it spawned its own thread! Anyway, so does the Third Ward not include the area we've referred to as "the East End"? Does Garnet Coleman's district include that (East End) area? Thanks.

By most definitions, the East End is east of 45, once you get past DT.

Here's a map of Coleman's district boundaries.

So his district includes Midtown and parts of the Near East End. I still don't see how he can get away with taking Midtown TIRZ money to buy land in 3rd Ward, outside of the TIRZ for his own social engineering vision.

Is there something here that I'm missing?

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Yikes. I understand his motives, but his methods are totally flawed. Nothing stabilizes a neighborhood like ownership, and he should be helping steer those residents towards that goal.

Perhaps, but if you allow people to own their own properties, they can also opt to sell them. I think that what he's more concerned about is keeping the neighborhood poor and black. He even owns a big apartment complex along Griggs Road that was recently built out of modular materials. Even though it is market-rate, the units are extremely cheap, both in terms of quality and price. If Perry Homes' motto is "building the slums of tomorrow, today", then this guy's motto must be "building the slums of today, yesterday".

There's a nearly-identical complex on OST, where the hardi-plank is rapidly growing mold on the second story.

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Guest danax
I think that what he's more concerned about is keeping the neighborhood poor and black. He even owns a big apartment complex along Griggs Road that was recently built out of modular materials. Even though it is market-rate, the units are extremely cheap, both in terms of quality and price. If Perry Homes' motto is "building the slums of tomorrow, today", then this guy's motto must be "building the slums to today, yesterday".

There's a nearly-identical complex on OST, where the hardi-plank is rapidly growing mold on the second story.

I'm sure you're talking about these same complexes. The one's by Gulfgate have about half of the siding falling off or in the process of being replaced. I hear they're factory built like manufactured homes (double-wides), which probably means foam board and eventual mold/rot in our climate.

I'm surprised Midtowners haven't ganged up on Coleman because of his TIRZ looting. If the shoe were on the other foot this would be national news.

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I'm sure you're talking about these same complexes. The one's by Gulfgate have about half of the siding falling off or in the process of being replaced. I hear they're factory built like manufactured homes (double-wides), which probably means foam board and eventual mold/rot in our climate.

I'm surprised Midtowners haven't ganged up on Coleman because of his TIRX looting. If the shoe were on the other foot this would be national news.

That's right. There are a few others around town built by the same folks.

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Guest danax
Meaning????

If 3rd Ward TIRZ proceeds were being siphoned off the buy land in Midtown because someone decided to buy land in Midtown to keep 3rd Ward people from buying it, the uproar would be large. Of course, that's not going to happen.

Midtownguy, are you living in Midtown and are you OK with what Coleman's doing?

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If 3rd Ward TIRZ proceeds were being siphoned off the buy land in Midtown because someone decided to buy land in Midtown to keep 3rd Ward people from buying it, the uproar would be large. Of course, that's not going to happen.

Midtownguy, are you living in Midtown and are you OK with what Coleman's doing?

Yep, I live in Midtown. Nope, I'm not OK, with what he's doing. In fact, I think that money could seriously be used to fix up some of the roads around here.

However, I do understand his motives for preserving the neighborhood of its historical and cultural signifigance. As I said before, Coleman should push homeownership instead of rental units. This entire area is ripe for mixed-income housing, and could foster the kind of neighborhood vibrancy that is often found in Montrose.

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Guest danax
Yep, I live in Midtown. Nope, I'm not OK, with what he's doing. In fact, I think that money could seriously be used to fix up some of the roads around here.

However, I do understand his motives for preserving the neighborhood of its historical and cultural signifigance. As I said before, Coleman should push homeownership instead of rental units. This entire area is ripe for mixed-income housing, and could foster the kind of neighborhood vibrancy that is often found in Montrose.

I agree with you. Trying to keep his own pond well stocked is human and forgiveable and no one wants to see the place obliterated culture-wise. The TIRZ deal is what amazes me, that he's able to get away with it, that is.

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I agree with you. Trying to keep his own pond well stocked is human and forgiveable and no one wants to see the place obliterated culture-wise. The TIRZ deal is what amazes me, that he's able to get away with it, that is.

Yeah, he's not the only one pushing hard to try and preserve 3rd Ward. There are a LOT of groups out there in some way building up 3rd Ward in the attempt to preserve its ethnic character. I don't much like that, personally. I prefer to think of the U.S. as more of a melting pot than a mosaic. Haven't we, as Houstonians, seen in the New Orleans folks the negative consequences of having such strong divides between socioeconomic communities?

But like you said, taking from Midtown to give (questionably) to 3rd Ward is outright theft.

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If the shoe were on the other foot this would be national news.

Quote from the article (emphisis added):

“You can tell a neighborhood’s turning,” he says with dismay, “when you see them out at night walking their dogs.”

Let in a few and next thing you know, they'll be bringing their friends over with them. Sure, I think they should be treated fairly, but do you want one living next door? Think what they'll do to property values. And do you want your sister to marry one?

Quote:“Low-density rental is the only way for it to be affordable,” Coleman argues. “You keep the character of the neighborhood while providing affordable housing.”

I share Mr. Coleman's concerns. As a 25 year resident of the Montrose area, I'm in danger of being priced out of my neighborhood. We've got our share of dog-walkers, too. Maybe we can strike a deal, where you 'bank' some of that money in my neighborhood. I think straight people should be treated fairly, but that doesn't mean I want to marry one.

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  • 1 year later...
I agree with you. Trying to keep his own pond well stocked is human and forgiveable and no one wants to see the place obliterated culture-wise. The TIRZ deal is what amazes me, that he's able to get away with it, that is.

A TIRZ is required to set-aside 10% of their "revenue" for low-income housing. It also allows for using those 10% funds in an adjacent area to the TIRZ as long as it is in the same county. So legally, the board is able to do what they are doing in third ward. Socially/economically I don't think their plan is going to work, since they cannot use race to determine who lives in their housing. There are probably more white and hispanic low income people who would be eligible than african-american. The Board really needs to work with the civic associations to make sure their plans are aligned with the community.

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A TIRZ is required to set-aside 10% of their "revenue" for low-income housing. It also allows for using those 10% funds in an adjacent area to the TIRZ as long as it is in the same county. So legally, the board is able to do what they are doing in third ward. Socially/economically I don't think their plan is going to work, since they cannot use race to determine who lives in their housing. There are probably more white and hispanic low income people who would be eligible than african-american. The Board really needs to work with the civic associations to make sure their plans are aligned with the community.

Yes, apparently it's all legal but it is clear that Coleman's focus is not on Midtown but to use the TIRZ as a means to fuel his personal vendetta against those who want to gentrify "his" neighborhood. Any idea if they're working on affordable housing in Midtown? And I wonder what percentage of their money they're using for the 3rd Ward land banking scheme......10, 50, 90? I also saw in the minutes of their Oct 2007 meeting discussion about an "affordable housing grant" for Row House CDC. I don't know the specifics but it appears that the TIRZ might be giving money to Row House CDC, which sounds like a good project but again, it appears to be more syphoning from Midtown to fight gentrification nearby.

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Yes, apparently it's all legal but it is clear that Coleman's focus is not on Midtown but to use the TIRZ as a means to fuel his personal vendetta against those who want to gentrify "his" neighborhood. Any idea if they're working on affordable housing in Midtown? And I wonder what percentage of their money they're using for the 3rd Ward land banking scheme......10, 50, 90? I also saw in the minutes of their Oct 2007 meeting discussion about an "affordable housing grant" for Row House CDC. I don't know the specifics but it appears that the TIRZ might be giving money to Row House CDC, which sounds like a good project but again, it appears to be more syphoning from Midtown to fight gentrification nearby.

The link is to their Agenda not the minutes. For the life of me, I have not been able to find where they post the minutes to the meetings. Does someone have to request the minutes via the Freedom of Information Act?

If the residents of the Mid-town TIRZ want their TIRZ money to fund low-income housing in mid-town then they better start talking to to the Board and the people who nominate the people to the Board becuase that is just not happpening today.

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OK, so can somebody tell me why Midtown would want the l-i housing in the TIRZ rather than elsewhere adjacent? I don't recall many places with ideas of their own future glory actually cultivating l-i housing as part of its growth plan.

As for homeownership for those who can't afford it, great idea. We could package those loans as structured investment vehicles ...

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