Developers rule

Exasperated residents get no satisfaction after meeting with Mayor Parker aboutAshby high rise settlement

An attendee wearing a protest sign

Photo by Katie Oxford
Mayor Annise Parker told the crowd there was nothing the city can do to stop theproject.

Photo by Katie Oxford
David Feldman at the podium, with Councilmember Ellen Cohen, left, and MayorAnnise Parker seated to the left of him

Photo by Katie Oxford
Patricia Casey asks the panel about the “enforcement mechanism for traffic.”

Photo by Katie Oxford
Concerned citizens filing in at the meeting

Photo by Katie Oxford

Editors note: Katie Oxford lives in the neighborhood where the planned Ashby high rise recently received the go-ahead from Mayor Annise Parker. She attended a meeting at Congregation Emanu El Monday night where Parker heard concerns about the project and filed this report.

The Ashby high rise project has brought much angst to the neighborhood near Rice University. The issues involved are complex, chock full of legalities, politics, egos and more. I still don’t grasp it all but one thing has seemed clear from the get-go. If these guys build the Ashby, it’s because they can! In Houston developers rule.

In courts and conversations, the Ashby debate has been grinding along for five years until Mayor Annise Parker sent neighbors a letter late last month, saying that the city had decided to settle a $40 million suit with developers Buckhead Investment Partners to allow the project to proceed.

"No matter what happens here, I can assure you, it ain't over," Jim Reeder, co-chair of the Stop Ashby High Rise Task Force, said as the crowd applauded.

At a neighborhood meeting Monday night, Parker emphasized concessions that the developers had made, including lowering the size of the building from 23 to 21 floors, altering traffic patterns around the proposed high rise at 1717 Bissonnet (at Ashby) and offering shuttle service to and from the Texas Medical Center.

But the settlement didn't placate a crowd of around 500 (and an ample representation of the Houston Police Department who were there to ward off any trouble). Residents stood in long lines waiting to have their say.

"No matter what happens here, I can assure you, it ain't over," Jim Reeder, co-chair of the Stop Ashby High Rise Task Force, said as the crowd applauded.

But there appear to be few options for neighborhood residents, who before the meeting stood outside the synagogue and held signs emblazoned with the words, "Litigate Don't Mitigate" and "Don't Sell Us Out."

Parker told the audience that the city had exhausted every legal means and that basically it has no tools to stop such projects. “If anyone here has a silver bullet, I’ll be happy to hear it,” she said.

At one point, Parker reminded everyone that, “We’re here to discuss what we can do going forward,” and city attorney David Feldman urged residents to form a committee to work with the developer "to ease the pain."

But that didn’t seem to be what they wanted to hear.

Camille Murphy, who opposes the project, told Channel 13 that residents left feeling angrier because the city response is always "there's nothing we can do about it."

"That's how the city starts everything," she said.

See the Channel 13 report on the meeting:

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Market Upset

Houston shocks as one of 10 worst big cities for first-time homebuyers

Row of houses in Houston, Houston homes for sale

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Houston is the worst Texas city for first-time buyers.

The Houston housing market may not be for everyone. In a surprising turn of events, Houston has flopped to the bottom of a new list of the best U.S. cities for first-time homebuyers.

WalletHub's new study — which analyzes the affordability, quality of life, and real estate market in 300 U.S. cities — ranks Houston No. 271, or the 30th worst city overall in the U.S. to buy your first home. And, when broken down by city size, WalletHub ranks Houston the 9th worst big city for first-time buyers (No. 61 out of 69).

Houston's lack of appeal for first-time buyers is essentially due to its poor affordability and quality of life scores, rather than the state of the city's housing market, according to the report's findings.

H-town ranks 216th out of all 300 U.S. cities for its affordability, and it appears farther down the list for its quality of life, landing 284th nationally. Houston's cost of living, however, is better than most cities, ranking 51st overall.

The city's real estate market ranking is among the top 100 in the U.S., at No. 91, but that wasn't enough to outweigh its less-than-stellar rankings in the other main categories.

Other metrics (where No. 1 is the best and No. 150 is average) that factored into Houston's overall ranking include:

No. 31 – Total home energy cost
No. 77 – Rent-to-price ratio
No. 99 – Median home-price appreciation
No. 148 – Foreclosure rate
No. 246 – Real estate tax rate
No. 270 – Property crime rates

While Houston boasts the lowest Texas ranking on the list, it isn't the only Lone Star city that is less than favorable for first-time buyers. In fact, only one Texas spot — the Dallas suburb of McKinney — lands among the top 100 of the report. A total of 20 Texas cities rank outside the top 100, with Laredo (No. 200), Mesquite (No. 202), San Antonio (No. 208), and Dallas (No. 233) joining Houston as the state's worst.

First-time buyers across the country are entering the housing market at a difficult time, the report says. The National Association of Realtors reported the share of first-time homebuyers sank to an all-time low in 2025, to 21 percent, whereas the historic national average is 40 percent.

"Buying a home for the first time is an exciting and important milestone for many Americans, but achieving that milestone is getting more difficult as prices and interest rates continue to rise," the report's author wrote. "People willing and able to invest in a house this year must balance what they want and need with what they can afford. Often, people begin searching for their dream home without a realistic idea of market prices, interest rates or even their eligibility for a mortgage."

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