(l-r seated) Kathy Flanagan-Payton, Berneice Hill, (l-r standing) Iris Williams and Ms. Hill’s daughter in front of Ms. Hill’s new home

Streets lined with empty stores, abandoned houses and weed-covered lots on the northeast edge of downtown are developing into a dynamic, diverse community. The transformation began after a group of pastors, teachers, retirees and other citizens formed the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation (FWCRC) to save their homes and neighborhood.

After holding town hall meetings and conducting surveys to determine what local residents wanted, the group developed a master plan incorporating retail development, improved bus routes, better schools and more security. According to executive director Kathy Flanagan-Payton, “The one thing that kept coming up over and over in all the surveys was the need for high-quality, affordable housing so that the people here in the neighborhood could have a nice place to live. We’re in the thirteenth year of our 15-year master plan, and to date we’ve built about 200 single-family homes and close to 350 multifamily units, in addition to approximately 70,000 square feet of commercial space. We were faced with the challenge of providing decent, safe, affordable housing for people who earn less than $7,000 a year.”

Affordable housing means overcoming barriers to buying. Ms. Flanagan-Payton says, “We address those barriers and help families overcome obstacles.” When FWCRC builds a home, it sometimes provides a no-interest loan. In other instances FWCRC donates funds to reduce the price of a house so monthly payments are lower, or it pays the down payment and closing costs. Sometimes it helps clients clean up their credit. She says, “The biggest challenge often is educating the consumer, because they usually are unaware of the products and services that are available to them or how to obtain them.”

FWCRC provides more than houses, education and financial assistance. “We’re not just focused on sticks and bricks,” declares Ms. Flanagan-Payton. “We also try to empower families living here.” To fulfill that mission, FWCRC operates the Fifth Ward Finance and Small Business Development Center, which provides vital services and is very visibly located at the busiest intersection in the neighborhood. The center includes a Houston Police Department storefront, electronic banking facilities and a low-rate, full-service insurance agent. It offers residents workforce training, computer classes and credit counseling. A collaboration of specialist organizations located on-site, including the Urban Business Initiative and the University of Houston’s Small Business Development Center, offers advice to small business owners who also are invited to use the center’s computers and meeting rooms.

“Word-of-mouth is our biggest marketing tool,” says Ms. Flanagan-Payton, “and business is booming. We help about 1,000 families each year. That’s credit and financial counseling, delinquency intervention, loan packaging and brokering services. We produced 37 homes in 2000 and 25 in 2003, and we’re projecting 45 for 2004.”

A technology center to serve and train the young people of the community, along with retail spaces and an arts district either are under construction or on the drawing board. “Before they locate in a community, restaurants, movie theaters, banks and grocery stores all count rooftops,” explains Ms. Flaganan-Payton. “We’ve got to keep building and diversifying the economy in the community by bringing in some higher-income families. We have beautiful views of Houston’s skyline, and we’re a direct link to the booming downtown community. Lots in the Fifth Ward still are affordable.”

Ms. Flanagan-Payton sincerely cares about the Fifth Ward, because she grew up there. She says, “I remember when this was a vibrant community, full of excitement and energy. My parents, like most people here, left in the late ’60s. We moved to suburbia, but our life still was here. My grandparents lived here, we attended church here. The only thing that wasn’t here was our home.”

Back to index