Ashby Drama's New Twist

'The monster' fights back: Ashby high rise developers vow to build on — as soon as they can

Harris County jurors may have awarded $1.7 million in damages to residents near the so-called Ashby high rise, but developers of the proposed luxury tower vow to continue fighting for the controversial project.

A representative with Buckhead Investment Partners tells CultureMap that the Houston-based firm will challenge the damages ruling as well as a potential construction injunction to be decided by judge Randy Wilson in the coming weeks.

"Buckhead Investment Partners remains hopeful that the Court's final decision will allow them to resume work on the project as soon as possible," company rep Meredith Johnson wrote in an email, adding that the developers "see no evidence" to support an injunction.

Harris County jurors awarded damages ranging from $29,000 to nearly $123,000.

Located at 1717 Bissonnet, the massive 21-story residential building would stand between Boulevard Oaks and Southampton, neighborhoods marked by tree-lined streets and upscale single-family homes.

The Stop Ashby High Rise coalition, which has opposed to the tower since it was first planned in 2007, issued a statement saying it is "delighted and gratified" that a unanimous jury found the building so out of place "as to constitute a nuisance under Texas law."

But Matthew Festa — a South Texas College of Law professor and land use historian called as a witness for the defense — fears the damages ruling could have a "chilling effect" on future development as the city becomes more densely populated.

"If upheld, this decision sets a dangerous precedent by awarding damages to plaintiffs who object to something that was otherwise legal," he says. "It says you can be penalized for building something your next-door neighbors don't like."

On Tuesday, after a month-long trial, Harris County jurors awarded damages to 20 of 30 households involved in the suit against Buckhead. Court records show that amounts range from $29,000 to nearly $123,00.

The tower is not giving up the fight yet.

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rent report

New report reveals how many Texans are paying too much for rent

Photo by Francesca Tosolini on Unsplash

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Millions of Texas renters, both current residents and new arrivals, suffer from wallet whiplash.

A new report from the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers shows 45 percent of the state’s renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Renters occupy more than 4.2 million Texas households, representing nearly half of the state’s residents.

Worse yet, 81 percent of extremely low-income households in Texas spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing, the report says. For that income group, Texas has a shortage of 864,000 affordable homes.

Thirty percent is the standard financial benchmark for spending too much income on rent, while 50 percent puts a renter in the “severely cost-burdened” bucket.

“To sustain growth and secure future prosperity, Texas will need more than 320,000 additional affordable homes [rented and owned] to address workforce housing affordability and meet the demands of a growing population,” says the report.

“Today, the state is creating thousands of new jobs,” the report adds, “but housing supply has not kept pace with demand, driving up housing costs and constraining continued economic growth.”

Not surprisingly, people who live in or move to three of Texas’ biggest metro areas get hit with the state’s highest apartment rental rates. Here’s Apartments.com’s list of the 10 most expensive places for renters in Texas, based on apartments whose average size ranges from 713 square feet in Austin to 771 square feet in Plano:

1. Frisco — $1,477 per month
2. Plano — $1,461 per month
3. Austin — $1,417 per month
4. Dallas — $1,413 per month
5. McKinney — $1,363 per month
6. Grand Prairie — $1,327 per month
7. Irving — $1,318 per month
8. Garland — $1,237 per month
9. Fort Worth — $1,217 per month
10. Houston — $1,183 per month

San Antonio boasts some of the lowest average rent among Texas’ 10 most affordable markets: $1,075 per month. Mesquite, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, also fits into that category, with average monthly rent of $1,052.

Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott announced more than $114 million in grants to help develop or rehabilitate properties, providing more than 4,400 affordable rental units.

“As our state grows, we must ensure that Texans have access to the affordable housing they need to thrive,” Abbott says.

rent prices report apartments