MAYOR WHITE ATTENDS RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY CELEBRATING THE COMPLETION OF THE FIRST NEW HOMES DEDICATED TO THE ACORN HOMEOWNERSHIP PROGRAM
March 26, 2007 -- Mayor Bill White, Houston Housing Director Richard Celli and members of ACORN today dedicated the new ACORN Glenn subdivision in Northeast Houston. The Mayor along with other dignitaries cut the ribbon to celebrate completion of the first new homes in the subdivision. Council Member Jarvis Johnson presented keys to the first homebuyer. Counselors will be available to process prospective homebuyers through the ACORN homeownership program.
The $10 million dollar development located near Mesa and Tidwell Roads marks some of the first planned development in this area of Houston in years. The development consists of 89 homes located on 5,000 square feet lots.
"The development of ACORN Glenn, combined with the "Houston Hope" and "Good Neighbor" programs will provide a significant increase in the availability of affordable housing in some of Houston's historic, yet most neglected neighborhoods," said Mayor Bill White. "These families will strengthen our communities and have the opportunity to live close to the center of town where they work and enjoy so much of what Houston has to offer."
City of Houston Developer Participation subsidies for sewer construction reduced development costs.
ACORN Housing leveraged $765,000 in grant funds from federal and private sources to provide grants of up to $9,565 per house. The City of Houston Housing and Community Development Department is providing down payment and closing cost assistance, ranging from $10,000 to $19,500 ( www.houstonhousing.org ). Eligible families can qualify for as much as 29,000 in grants directly reducing their mortgage.
The applicant must be low-to-moderate income, defined for purpose of this program as having a gross annual income that does not exceed 80% of the City median income adjusted for family size.
"We want to provide the best house for the money, so that working families would have a home they would be proud to raise their families in for years to come," said ACORN spokesperson Lewis Jenkins.
Majestic Homebuilders, a well respected Houston builder with extensive experience in the construction of affordable homes, is the contractor for this project.
Below is the maximum income that a family can make to qualify for the program:
Family Size
Area Median Income
1
$34,150
2
$39,050
3
$43,900
4
$48,800
5
$52,700
6
$56,600
7
$60,500
8
$64,400
For more information, call ACORN Housing at 713-349-0760 or 713-765-7264.
ACORN Housing has been providing homeownership opportunities and free housing counseling to low and moderate-income homebuyers since 1987. ACORN has opened HUD-certified, Fannie Mae-approved housing counseling offices across the U.S., helping 80,000 families to achieve homeownership and leveraging over $10 billion in mortgage loans, grants and other assistance that help make affordable homeownership available to lower income families.
