The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
2002, ISSUE 2 HOUSTON’S FOURTH WARD Old Neighborhood, New Life Future Site Federal Reserve Bank T he Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas recently dedi- that offered opportunity to its residents to an area of boarded- cated the land for a new Houston Branch building, scheduled up houses, few local businesses and deteriorating infrastruc- to be completed in 2005. The Bank is proud that the Branch ture. Over the past four decades, numerous revitalization will be in the city’s historic Fourth Ward, which has played an efforts have failed, engendering disappointment and frustration important role in the civic and cultural lives of black Houstoni- among those remaining in the neighborhood. Only recently, ans since newly freed slaves settled there in 1865. through a strong partnership of area churches, bankers, local This special issue of Perspectives looks at the Fourth organizations and the city, have things begun to change. Today, Ward’s rich history and efforts to develop affordable housing as you will see, new homes are being built and old, historic and revitalize the neighborhood. The Fourth Ward, like many homes renovated. historic black neighborhoods, went from a thriving community Amid this revitalization, the Houston Branch of the Dallas Fed plans to be a good neighbor. Since the Branch opened in 1919, its work has increased as Houston has grown to become the nation’s fourth-largest city. Today, the Branch processes currency, checks and other payments for financial institutions, and bank examiners monitor the financial soundness and management of state member banks and bank holding companies. The Branch also does economic research that is used in formulating U.S. monetary policy. In addition to contributing to these traditional Federal Reserve functions, an important part of the Branch’s mission is to educate the community on the economy and how it functions and emphasize the importance of financial literacy, affordable housing and consumer education. We look forward to being an active member of the Fourth Ward community and providing information on these important topics to our neighbors. Local organizations, churches, banks and the city are proving that community development can work under even the most difficult circumstances. 2 PERSPECTIVES | Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Robert D. McTeer, Jr. President, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas tions, salient achievements given that blacks were seldom allowed to govern their own institutions at the time. By 1900, the Fourth Ward was center stage in Houston’s black professional life. It was home to 80 percent of the city’s black professional institutions and almost a third of its black-owned businesses. A decade later, a group of black doctors— barred from white hospitals — founded Union Hospital, and by 1915, all but one of Houston’s black doctors and dentists had offices in the community. The Fourth Ward was also the comCarnegie Library opening, 1913 mercial and cultural hub for black Houston. The black-owned Pilgrim Building, For almost 140 years — through good black life in Houston in the late 19th and built in the late 1920s, housed offices, times and bad—the Fourth Ward has had early 20th centuries and left a legacy for restaurants, beauty shops, nightclubs, a special meaning for Houston blacks. The future generations. ballroom, a roller rink, and law, medical ward’s rich history continues to play an Then, as now, churches were power- and dental practices. In the ward’s heyday, important role today, as the city and com- ful forces in the community and helped restaurants and nightclubs on West Dallas munity organizations work to revitalize the shape its other major institutions. Even drew crowds of blacks and whites, area and develop affordable housing. before emancipation, a private school for prompting some to retrospectively dub it blacks operated out of Trinity Methodist Houston’s Harlem. Episcopal Church. Gregory Institute, the The Fourth Ward began to lose promi- When news of emancipation reached city’s first black public school, grew out nence in the 1920s, when the Third Ward Texas in 1865, several thousand blacks— of Freedmen’s Bureaus at the churches. began to attract more of Houston’s black many from plantations along the Brazos Antioch Baptist Church and its pioneer- institutions. Forty years later, integration River—made their way up the San Felipe ing pastor, Jack Yates, started Houston further eroded the community, as many road to Houston. Once there, many of College to provide young blacks with residents moved to parts of the city previ- them joined native blacks in leasing or the opportunity to pursue vocational and ously off-limits to blacks. Perhaps more buying farmland on the city’s western ministerial studies. significant was the encroachment of pub- The Fourth Ward’s Legacy edge and forming Freedmen’s Town. The churches were also on the fore- This area south of Buffalo Bayou — front of civic matters, helping organize the part of the city’s Fourth Ward — was not Harris County Republican Club, an inte- Houston’s only black settlement, but it grated organization in which blacks held was the largest. By 1870, the ward was several important offices, and establishing home to more blacks than any other area Houston’s first park for blacks. in Houston, and by 1915, they constituted a majority. lic buildings. The construction of City Hall Juneteenth celebration Barred from the city’s white libraries, Fourth Ward residents organized and But numbers alone were not what negotiated the construction of the made the Fourth Ward a touchstone for Carnegie Library for blacks. They secured blacks. Its wealth of religious, educational the city’s permission for an all-black board and cultural institutions came to define and autonomy over the library’s collec- Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas | PERSPECTIVES 3 in the 1930s displaced many people, and Data from the 2000 census put the number of households in the Fourth Ward at 590, down from 794 a decade earlier. a decade later, San Felipe Courts, an allwhite public housing complex, displaced many more. In 1945, the new Interstate 45 split the ward nearly in half, undermining the community’s cohesiveness. By 1980, Fourth Ward’s population— nearly 17,000 in 1910—had fallen to 4,400, almost half of whom lived below the poverty line. And home ownership, which had reached 12 percent in 1900—less than 40 years after emancipation—had sunk to 5 percent. The community continued to lose ground over the next 20 years. Data from the 2000 census put the population at 1,740, down from 2,371 a decade earlier, and the number of households at 590, down from 794. More than 40 percent of Fourth Ward households had incomes under $15,000 in 1997, the most recent data available. The neighborhood’s racial composition changed markedly, with the number of black residents falling from 60 percent in 1990 to 37 percent in 2000 and Hispanics rising from 34 percent to 54 percent. Today, the city and community organizations are working to bring new life to this once-vibrant urban community. Public Housing Yesterday Nothing has been easy about revitalizing the Fourth Ward. Political wrangling, market realities, the economic downturn of the 1980s and decades of neglect have presented numerous hurdles. Much of the controversy, and most of the court battles, revolved around San Felipe Courts—later renamed Allen Parkway Village—a sprawling public housing complex. Built in the 1940s for defense workers and the families of servicemen at war, the 1,000-unit Allen Parkway consisted of twoand three-story flat-roofed brick apart- 4 PERSPECTIVES | Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Since the late 1990s, the city has transformed the Fourth Ward’s once-bleak public housing, building 322 new units and renovating another 278. ments that were restricted to whites until 1993, City Council voted to demolish all The first residents began moving into 1968. In the late 1970s, city officials began but 150 units. Finally, in 1996 — after what’s now called Historic Oaks of Allen talking about leveling the aging and deteri- decades of court battles and compro- Parkway Village in late 1999. The 642- to orating complex and selling the prime real mises—the last residents left the project. 2,061-square-foot apartments have one to estate to pay for more and better public housing elsewhere. A 1980 study triggered five bedrooms. A third of the units are Public Housing Today reserved for households with incomes of community protest when it recommended Since the late 1990s, the city has trans- up to 30 percent of the area median, a that the city sell the land and that the formed the Fourth Ward’s once-bleak pub- third for those with up to 60 percent and a Fourth Ward be developed for middle- and lic housing, building 322 new units and third for those up to 80 percent. This broad upper-income housing. The fate of the 37- renovating another 278. The apartments range of incomes enables the site to be acre site remained up in the air through- offer the kinds of amenities found in mar- self-sustaining. out the ’80s and well into the ’90s, as HUD, ket-rate properties, such as ceiling fans, About three blocks away, in the heart Congress and City Hall considered numer- microwaves and washer/dryer connec- of the Fourth Ward, is Victory Apartments. ous proposals for its future. Meanwhile, tions. Some of the new units enjoy spec- The 100-unit, $9 million complex was the property continued to go downhill. tacular views of downtown. completed in 2000 for families who earn Churches and community organiza- The Housing Authority of the City up to 60 percent of median area income. tions expressed relief in 1988 when Allen of Houston (HACH) tapped federal pro- Apartments range from 692 to 1,314 square Parkway was listed odogn the National grams to fund the work, including HOPE feet, with one to three bedrooms. The Register of Historic Places. Texas preserva- VI and low-income housing tax credits. gated community features front porches tionists subsequently worked with the The tax credits were syndicated through and decorative accents that echo the resi- Advisory Council on Historic Preservation the National Equity Fund, which has dential architecture once characteristic of to monitor federal spending on the site. many bank investors. Residents, whose the neighborhood. But the Texas Historical Commission incomes vary from 0 to 80 percent of the HACH is further preserving the warned that inclusion on the National area median, pay 30 percent of their gross Fourth Ward’s architectural legacy by Register was not protection per se, and in income for rent. building 25 new row houses and rehab- Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas | PERSPECTIVES 5 Faced with the Fourth Ward’s continuing erosion, community leaders sought a plan to ensure a viable neighborhood. bing 15 existing ones. These single-family developers bought others for market-rate homes will be reserved for those with housing. household income of up to 50 percent of Hou-Tex reserved more than 400,000 the area median. The housing authority square feet for affordable housing devel- expects to wrap up work on these houses opment by four faith-based community in March 2003. development corporations (CDCs) that committed to build at least 150 single- Enter the Nonprofits When Freedmen’s Town was named to the lots for $11 per square foot, but the National Register in 1985, it was because of the original $3.4 million grant described as the country’s last intact com- from the city, HHFC is able to provide a munity founded by freed slaves. But the subsidy of $8 per square foot on each lot. 40-block area continued to deteriorate, Lot sizes have been trimmed from 5,000 resulting in the loss of many houses. square feet — standard in the Fourth Faced with the Fourth Ward’s continuing erosion and the threat of being engulfed lower housing costs. The city is providing first-time home- leaders sought a plan to ensure a viable buyers down payment assistance. To qual- neighborhood that respected its past and ify, families must have household income provided housing for all income levels. of no more than 80 percent of the area realizing that goal has not been easy. PERSPECTIVES Ward — to 2,500 square feet to further by high-end development, community Like much else in the Fourth Ward, 6 family homes. The CDCs are purchasing median and be able to obtain mortgage financing. In the late 1990s, the nonprofit Hous- Today, four CDCs are building afford- ton Renaissance Inc. received a $3.4 mil- able housing in the neighborhood. About lion grant from the city and a $6.6 million 70 single-family homes have been com- loan from the city’s Houston Housing pleted, and close to another 100 are Finance Corp. (HHFC) to assemble land currently planned. The two-story, 1,000- and build affordable housing in the Fourth to 1,400-square-foot houses sell for Ward. Houston Renaissance acquired more $87,000–$92,000. than 1 million square feet of land but ran Miracle of Hope. In fall 2000, this out of money before any houses were built. affiliate of Second Pleasant Green Mission- By mid-1999 the city had terminated ary Baptist Church became the first of the its contract with Houston Renaissance. CDCs to break ground under the new rede- The land and related liabilities were trans- velopment plan. Partnering with Larus ferred to Hou-Tex Redevelopment Author- Builders, the CDC has completed 16 of the ity, a new nonprofit created by HHFC. 36 houses it plans. The CDC used a $10,000 Since taking over, Hou-Tex has sold the grant from JP Morgan Chase to acquire an land for both affordable and market-rate option on the lots. Miracle of Hope, like the housing. The housing authority acquired other three CDCs, received a $50,000 grant two parcels at below-market cost, one of from the city for operating costs. which is the site of Victory Apartments. Antioch Project Reach. In 1997, Hou-Tex sold a parcel to the Houston this offshoot of Antioch Baptist Church Independent School District, and private used a $75,000 loan from Compass Bank | Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Today, CDCs and the housing authority are building and restoring homes in the neighborhood. to purchase three shotgun-style houses of The CDC has also converted a decay- housing stock. Funds from the federal the type once common in the Fourth ing, 97-year-old structure that had been HOPE VI program are being used to sup- Ward. The CDC used a grant from Hous- everything from a boarding house and a port an array of services, many of which ton Endowment to renovate the struc- brothel to a crack house into housing for operate out of Historic Oaks but are avail- tures, which were subsequently sold to the elderly. Residents of the eight units at able to all Fourth Ward residents who their previous tenants for $25,000 each. In Rose of Sharon Manor II have private qualify. 2000, the CDC used part of a $500,000 baths and kitchenettes but share a full- Houston READ Commission, a non- grant from Houston Endowment to buy sized kitchen and common sitting area on profit literacy coalition, has opened a land for the 60 homes it plans to build with each floor. The city funneled about learning center at Historic Oaks, with Amenity Plus Homes; seven have been $500,000 in federal HOME funds to classes in such areas as adult basic educa- built so far with interim financing from finance the work, which received an award tion, GED preparation, preemployment Bank One and HHFC. from the Greater Houston Preservation and workplace skills, and financial and Alliance. computer literacy. The center also offers Fourth Ward Community Coalition. FWCC grew out of a series of meetings held in the late 1980s by clergy, an after-school enrichment program and a Another Player book club for teens. community representatives and other A CDC spin-off of Freedmen’s Town Those seeking job training and help interested parties. The CDC has com- Association has developed affordable with job searches receive referrals to such pleted almost half of the 40 affordable housing in the community in the past and agencies as Houston Area Urban League, homes it plans. FWCC is working with plans to do so again. In 1989–90, the CDC Texas WorkSource and Gulf Coast Com- Larus Builders, Vanguard Properties and restored 18 houses, using HUD funds from munity Services Association. North Houston Bank, which is providing the Neighborhood Development Demon- Seniors have access to meals, health interim construction financing. stration Project. A new affordable home screenings, arts and crafts, and exercise Uplift Fourth Ward. This CDC, cre- went up in 1996, and three others followed programs. The city expects to begin con- ated by Rose of Sharon Missionary Baptist in 2000. Current plans call for 16 more new struction on a neighborhood resource Church, has sold 24 of the 30 homes it has homes. center and a daycare center at Historic built in partnership with Majestic Home Builders. Southwest Bank of Texas works with potential homebuyers to prequalify them for mortgages Oaks in January. Beyond Bricks and Mortar From its beginnings as a home for Of course, revitalizing a neighbor- freed slaves to its years at the center of hood requires more than improving its black civic, cultural and commercial life Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas | PERSPECTIVES 7 and its subsequent decline, the Fourth opment can work under even the most Ward presents a microcosm of big-city difficult circumstances. ■ neighborhoods across the United States. —Jackie Hoyer Despite years of conflict over the Fourth Brook Griffin Ward’s fate, the city and local organizations are proving that community devel- perspectives www.dallasfed.org 2002, Issue 2 Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Gloria Vasquez Brown Community Affairs Office Vice President, Public Affairs P.O. Box 655906 gloria.v.brown@dal.frb.org Dallas, TX 75265-5906 Nancy C. Vickrey Assistant Vice President and Community Affairs Officer nancy.vickrey@dal.frb.org Diana Mendoza Community Affairs Specialist diana.mendoza@dal.frb.org Jason Sweat Community Affairs Specialist jason.sweat@dal.frb.org Karen Riley Community Affairs Specialist karen.riley@dal.frb.org Jackie Hoyer Houston Branch, Senior Community Affairs Advisor jackie.hoyer@dal.frb.org Credits: Page 3 photos courtesy Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library Editor: Monica Reeves Designer and Photographer: Gene Autry The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas or the Federal Reserve System. Articles may be reprinted if the source is credited and a copy is provided to the Community Affairs Office. December 2002 ....................................................... Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas P.O. Box 655906 Dallas, TX 75265-5906 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PA I D DALLAS, TEXAS PERMIT NO. 151
@FedFRASER