Apartment Drama

Stop Ashby High Rise shocked a neighbor is behind the building, vows to fight"bizarre" turn

Linbeck Group has signed on as official contractors for the controversial AshbyHigh Rise.
Photo by Karen Burd
Leo Linbeck III, who chairs the building company, resides near the building siteand hopes to alleviate the logistical strain caused by the massive project.
Leo Linbeck III/Twitter
Opposition groups say they will fight the 21-story residential project as itmoves forward.
Rendering via Buckhead Investment Partners Inc.

The controversial Ashby high rise officially has itself a builder, as developers Buckhead Investment Partners revealed that Linbeck Group will lead the 21-story residential complex to completion by spring 2014.

Headed by executive chairman Leo Linbeck III — who actually resides just around the corner from the building site — the construction company says it hopes to mitigate the impact of the massive project when it breaks ground early next year. But that has hardly appeased the vocal neighborhood opposition.

Thursday afternoon, the Stop the Ashby High Rise Task Force sent out a mass email to its supporters:

Let us assure you that the Task Force is continuing work on a variety of fronts to stop this ill-placed project! It is bizarre and disappointing that one of our own residents would elect to participate; however, the Buckheads’ announcement provides useful clarity as to whom we are fighting."

The message reminds followers that the developers have yet to obtain approval for their site plan and the Stop Ashby movement will continue to battle the project as it moves ahead.

The builder announcement comes less that two weeks after Buckhead reapplied for building permits after construction was halted by a legal dispute led by opposition groups like Stop the Ashby High Rise Task Force claiming the 228-unit building would bring about a traffic nightmare for area residents.

"It is bizarre and disappointing that one of our own residents would elect to participate."

The Houston-based firm has worked extensively in the neighborhood, completing a number of project for Rice University, including the Brochstein Pavilion and the Bioscience Research Collaborative.

"I realize that folks may decide to attack us for our involvement," Linbeck told the Houston Chronicle.

"A lot of my neighbors are very unhappy, and I can't change that. But we really are trying to help, and I hope that they appreciate that."

In March, Mayor Annise Parker ended the two-year urban planning embroilment by declaring the city had no legal grounds to stop the project.

By April, the Stop Ashby group laid out a 15-point grassroots attack on the developers, claiming that the fight was just beginning. The organization staged a "park-in" protest in May, during which members parked 70 cars on the streets around the building site to show what traffic will look like during and after construction.

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rent affordability news

Houstonians need to make nearly $68,000 to afford rent in 2025

Photo courtesy of Dolce Midtown Apartments

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A new rental report from Zillow has revealed Houston renters need to make about 23 percent more money than they did five years ago in order to afford rent in 2025.

Zillow analysts examined the income needed to afford rent in 50 major U.S. metros, and determined rent prices in each city as of April 2025.

The average Houston renter needs to make $67,731 a year to afford living in the city, the report found. To afford rent for a single-family home, the income needed increases even further to $85,017.

Despite Houston's rising rent cost of living, it's still more affordable than many other cities. Nationally, the average income needed for someone to comfortably afford rent comes out to nearly $81,000. The study says that figure has increased nearly 35 percent since 2020.

"Housing costs have surged since pre-pandemic, with rents growing quite a bit faster than wages," said senior Zillow economist Orphe Divounguy. "This often leaves little room for other expenses, making it particularly difficult for those hoping to save for a down payment on a future home. High upfront costs are often overlooked, which can keep renters in their current homes."

Rent prices in Houston averaged $1,693 last month, which is less costly than the national average rent price of $2,024. Additionally, Houstonians are spending about 24 percent of their income on rent, while the typical American spends almost 30 percent of their income on rent.

Renters are also saving hundreds of dollars in comparison to those that own their homes, as a recent SmartAsset study discovered the median monthly housing costs for a Houston homeowner came out to $2,219.

At least we're not living on the East or West Coast, where eight U.S. metros require six-figure incomes to afford rent. Residents in San Jose, California need to make $136,532 a year to afford rent, the highest out of all 50 U.S. cities. Rent prices in San Jose came out to $3,413 in April.

Here's how much money renters need to afford living in other Texas metros, according to Zillow:

Dallas – $71,413
Austin – $68,840
San Antonio – $58,590

zillow housing report rent prices affordability houston