Northwest Houston's Closed Apartment Complexes Depress an Otherwise Wealthy Neighborhood

There are three large apartment complexes in northwest Houston that have closed due to poor management and foreclosure within a five-mile diameter. Houston Mayor Bill White got the ball rolling with the closure of an apartment complex in the 77018 zip code that had a history of maintenance issues which threatened the safety of tenants. After children were injured at an outdoor electric junction box, Houston Mayor Bill White took action and forced the closing of the facility.

As it happened in the spring of 2007, the community cheered the action taken. Mayor White had begun to move on properties even before the issues of jurisdiction were debated. By removing the occupancy permit of the offending complex, he was able to create an environment for change. Even if the change was the loss of homes and citizens of local neighborhoods that ultimately rely on dense population segments that frequent local business. Once the first blow was taken, more apartment complexes began to reassess the profitability of repair and restoration of buildings that were developed up to 40 years ago. Rather than giving property owners a way out, the Mayor demanded action, and the fist of the complexes fell.

You find the same city closed complex still standing today. It's takes a long time for a building to fall on its own.

Neighborhoods can handle losing the worst. But dealing with the loss of the mid-level complexes that were a large part of an aging collection of neighborhoods will bring more trouble than before. Massive buildings that are left with no protection and security for long periods of time become home to vagrant squatters who only affect the area in a negative way. The neighborhood also loses a large revenue source that sustains local small business owners. Not only do you lose vital participants in local commerce and government when large apartment complexes are lost to attrition, but you lose the businesses that employ the next level of consumers who are at threat to become homeless themselves.

Take the Bad and Make Good on the Promise of Change

So now the question is what to do, right? Wrong. Discover first how to avoid the first failure, and you will learn how to take advantage of a bad situation to make it better. Offering the now closed complexes initiatives and paths to improvement through city involvement may have prevented 2 out of the three closures. When local governments realize that private interests need the knowledge and assistance of leaders to improve their situation, they become aware that communities that are saved are more powerful than the ones that fall into place after one has evicted. By not taking the opportunity to promote corrective solutions, local government misses the ball on neighborhood preservation, and you can find this in effect in the Northwest area of Houston, TX.