[Avenue on 34th Opening Celebration]
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SO, HURRICANE HARVEY, YOU KNOW, HIT A HIT, HIT US HERE IN HOUSTON, UH, ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO.
AND AVENUE WAS ONE OF A NUMBER OF NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT, UH, REPAIRED HOMES THAT WERE DAMAGED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE STORM, AND THEN ALSO, UH, WORKED TO BUILD NEW APARTMENTS, UH, LIKE, UH, LIKE THESE HERE TO REPLACE HOMES THAT WERE, UH, THAT WERE REALLY DESTROYED.
AND, UM, WE'RE JUST SO HAPPY TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WORK WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON TO, UH, BUILD THESE APARTMENTS IN THIS REALLY FANTASTIC LOCATION.
I'M, UH, REALLY FAMILIAR WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
I USED TO BRING MY KIDS TO PLAY SOCCER, UH, DOWN THE STREET IN THE, IN THE YMCA.
UM, WE'RE JUST A COUPLE OF BLOCKS FROM WALTRIP HIGH SCHOOL AND LESS THAN A MILE FROM OAK FOREST ELEMENTARY AND, AND FRANK BLACK MIDDLE SCHOOL.
AND, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU SAW IT WHEN YOU GOT HERE TODAY.
THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS REALLY BOOMING WITH LOTS OF NEW STORES AND, AND HOUSING AND, AND, AND RESTAURANTS.
UH, JUST A REALLY GREAT PLACE TO BE.
WHEN RESIDENTS STARTED TO MOVE INTO THE PROPERTY, UM, A FEW MONTHS AGO, YOU, WE IMMEDIATELY HEARD HOW THRILLED THEY WERE, UH, TO BE HERE CLOSE TO EVERYTHING.
AND, UM, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING A FEW OF THE RESIDENTS TODAY, AND, AND I HEARD IT AGAIN TODAY, THAT, YOU KNOW, THE LOCATION IS GREAT, THE BUILDING IS GREAT, AND IT'S REALLY BECOME A COMMUNITY, UM, WHICH IS, IS REALLY OUR GOAL ALL.
WE'RE REALLY, UH, GRATEFUL TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE OAK FOREST NEIGHBORHOOD AND, AND SHEPHERD FOREST NEIGHBORHOOD WHO GAVE US VALUABLE INPUT, UM, IN, UH, WHAT, WHAT THE BUILDING SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE MADE SOME CHANGES BASED ON THAT INPUT, AND I THINK CAME, CAME UP WITH A, A BUILDING THAT, THAT REALLY RESPONDED TO THE COMMUNITY AND REALLY FITS WELL IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND I, I WANNA THANK OUR COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, ABBY CAYMAN, WHO'S HERE TODAY FOR HER SUPPORT.
UH, THROUGHOUT THAT PROCESS, I ALSO WANNA THANK, UH, MR. PETER DOYLE, UM, THE PREVIOUS OWNER OF THIS PROPERTY, UM, WHO WORKED WITH US, UH, YEAH, RAISE YOUR HAND.
UH, WORKED WITH US SO PATIENTLY TO ENABLE US TO BE ABLE TO, UH, TO PURCHASE THE PROPERTY.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE, THE NEIGHBORS WERE SORRY TO SEE, UH, DOYLE'S RESTAURANT, UM, CLOTHES.
UH, IT WAS, UH, SUCH A GREAT, UH, COMMUNITY INSTITUTION.
BUT, UM, BUT REALLY, UH, YOUR SUPPORT, UM, WORKING WITH US TO ACQUIRE THE PROPERTY, I THINK HAS GIVEN, YOU KNOW, A, A NEW AND DIFFERENT LIFE TO THIS, UH, LOCATION AND, AND ABILITY FOR LOW INCOME PEOPLE TO, TO BE ABLE TO, TO LIVE IN THIS GREAT, UH, GREAT COMMUNITY.
UM, OUR GENERAL CONTRACTOR, UH, BLOCK WHO, UH, BUILT THE BUILDING DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC, NOT AN EASY TASK, AND SO LET'S HEAR IT FOR THEM.
OUR, UM, WONDERFUL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT FIRM, UH, ALLIED ORION.
UH, THE PROPERTY IS NOW, UM, I, I GUESS WE SAY 95% OCCUPIED.
THERE'S ONLY ONE APARTMENT LEFT.
UM, IT'S MARKET RATE IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO LIVE,
THANKS TO THEM, OF COURSE, OUR AVENUE BOARD MEMBERS, UM, WHO ARE HERE TODAY.
AND A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO THE AVENUE STAFF, UH, WHO, UH, OVERSAW THE DEVELOPMENT, UM, OUR REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT TEAM AND OUR, UH, FINANCE TEAM, OUR ASSET MANAGEMENT TEAM.
YOU KNOW, WE COULDN'T DO IT, UH, WITHOUT ALL OF YOU.
AND, UH, I WANNA ESPECIALLY CALL OUT, UH, THE PROJECT MANAGER, LAURA GRACE, WHO, UH, DID SUCH A GREAT JOB ON THIS.
SO, AND, UH, LAST, BUT OF COURSE NOT LEAST, I WANNA THANK THE
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CITY OF HOUSTON, UH, FOR THEIR AMAZING SUPPORT.OUR, UH, HOUSING DIRECTOR, UH, KEITH FINE.
AND, UH, OF COURSE OUR MAYOR, UH, MAYOR, SYLVESTER TURNER, WHO'S BEEN SUCH A GREAT FRIEND, UH, TO AVENUE AND, UH, REALLY HAS SUPPORTED OUR WORK.
LOOK, LET ME, LET ME JUST START OFF BY THANKING, THANKING MARY FOR HER, HER TIRELESS LEADERSHIP.
SHE HAS, UH, BEEN OUT FRONT ON MANY OF THESE PROJECTS.
THIS HAPPENS TO JUST TO BE ONE.
UH, SO PLEASE GIVE IT UP TO MARY LAWLER.
I MEAN, VERY COMMITTED, VERY DEDICATED TO AVENUE, TO THE BOARD MEMBERS OF AVENUE.
LET ME THANK YOU ALL TOO FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP.
UH, CERTAINLY WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR, YOUR DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER, ABBY CAYMAN.
HER SUPPORT HAS BEEN VITAL ON THIS DEVELOPMENT.
SO, UH, COUNCILMAN CAMAN, THANK YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH.
AND THOSE OF YOU KNOW, COUNCILMAN CAMAN IS VERY HANDS-ON AND VERY, AND VERY DETAILED.
UH, CERTAINLY WANT TO THANK, UH, DIRECTOR KEITH BYNUM, UH, DIRECTOR KEITH BYNUM, THANK YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE TEAM FOR HELPING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
LOOK, JUST A FEW COMMENTS, AND I'M GONNA STEP OUTTA THE WAY.
UH, THE LAST TIME WE WERE, WE WERE GATHERED HERE WAS FOR THE GROUNDBREAKING IN DECEMBER OF 2020, UH, SIX MONTHS FROM THE ONSET OF COVID-19.
AND YET, UH, UH, AS MARY SAID, UH, WE DID NOT LET AN INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL CRISIS DETER US FROM OUR MISSION, UH, TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR HOUSTONIANS.
AND I CERTAINLY WANT TO THANK THE ENTIRE TEAM, UH, FOR STAYING, UH, FOCUSED AND LASER FOCUSED ON GETTING THIS DEVELOPMENT DONE.
UH, THE CITY OF HOUSTON WAS PROUD TO CONTRIBUTE A TOTAL OF $9.1 MILLION OF HURRICANE HARVEY, DR.
17 FUNDS, UH, TOWARDS THE $18 MILLION COST OF THIS DEVELOPMENT.
AND EVERY DOLLAR WAS WORTH IT, AND WAS WELL INVESTED TO SEE, UH, THAT, UH, THIS BEAUTIFUL COMMUNITY AS 70 UNITS, 56 OF WHICH ARE RESERVED FOR RESIDENTS AT OR BELOW, UH, 80% OF LMI, UH, TO MY, TO OUR VISION OF ADDING 3000 AFFORDABLE HOMES IN HOUSTON BY DECEMBER OF 2023.
AND, UH, UH, FOR, TO HEAR THAT IT IS 95, UH, PERCENT OCCUPIED WITH ONE, UH, MARKET RATE UNIT AVAILABLE, UH, SPEAKS VOLUMES, UH, I WILL TAKE THAT AND WE WILL BE DONE.
AND I LIKE THE NAME, UH, AVENUE ON 34TH.
SO, PETER, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR BEING VERY GENEROUS, UH, AND SELLING IT.
IT'S CONVENIENTLY LOCATED NEAR TWO METRO BUS STOPS, THREE SCHOOLS, A GROCERY STORE PHARMACY IN FOUR PARKS ALL WITHIN TWO MILES.
AND RESIDENTS BEGAN MOVING IN EARLIER THIS YEAR, IN APRIL OF 2022.
AND THE COMMUNITY, UH, AS WE SAID, IS ALMOST THERE IN TERMS OF BEING 100% OCCUPIED.
AND OF COURSE, THIS WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE, UH, WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER AND COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, CAYMAN, AND THE LEADERSHIP OF THE DIRECTOR, KEITH BYNUM AND THE HARD WORK OF THE HOUSING IMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TEAM.
SO, FINALLY, UH, LET ME JUST THANK, UH, OUR PARTNERS, UH, MARY LAWLEY AVENUE, CDC, BLOCK BUILDERS HUNT, AND ALL OF OUR PARTNERS THAT HELP ENSURE HOUSTONIANS NEEDS TO ADDRESS AND MET THROUGH A HOLISTIC APPROACH, UH, THAT ENCOMPASSES ALL AVENUES OF LIFE.
AND THEN LET ME ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, THE CITY ATTORNEY, AURA MICHELLE, UH, WHO IS, IS HERE AS WELL, UH, UH, KIND OF OVERSEES EVERYTHING.
UH, SO, UH, THANK YOU, UH, ARTURO FOR BEING PRESENT.
NOW LET ME, LET ME YIELD TO COUNCILMAN ABBY CAYMAN.
I, I WILL BE VERY, VERY BRIEF BECAUSE NOBODY EVER WANTS TO TRY AND FOLLOW MAYOR TURNER.
UM, BUT I JUST CAME TO OFFER MY CONGRATULATIONS AND MY APPRECIATION.
UM, AS HOUSING PRICES RISE, UH, THE NEED IS MORE DESPERATE THAN EVER.
UH, ANYONE, I OR ANY OF THE RESIDENTS HERE, I HAVEN'T HAD AN OPPOR CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME HOME AND TO ALL THE STAFF, UM, THAT CONTINUE TO WORK ON THE PROPERTY, MARY, THE TEAM THAT WORKS OFF ON MORE AND MORE DEVELOPMENTS, THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL YOU DO TO ALLOW PEOPLE NOT JUST A WELCOMING SPACE, BUT A SAFE SPACE WHERE THEY CAN THRIVE.
AND I SAW THE PLAYGROUND IN THE BACKGROUND.
I KNOW THAT THERE'S FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN HERE.
UM, AND MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR YOUR VISION.
UH, WE ARE SEEING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FAMILIES AND THOSE THAT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE THAT LEG UP, BUT FOR THE WORK THAT YOU ARE DOING
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AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO THAT AND DIRECTOR BYNUM TO YOUR ENTIRE TEAM.AND FOR THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW, THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT HAS FACED CHALLENGE AFTER CHALLENGE AFTER CHALLENGE.
AND DESPITE ALL OF IT CONTINUES TO STAND UP FOR WHAT'S RIGHT, AND THAT'S SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
UH, SO AGAIN, ON, ON BEHALF OF DISTRICT C, I JUST WANNA WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, THOSE THAT ARE NOW ABLE TO STAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR QUITE SOME TIME, AND NEW RESIDENTS, UH, WELCOME HOME, AND TO ALL OF THE COMMUNITY PARTNERS, I'M GONNA GET IN TROUBLE IF I START NAMING THEM.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT.
ALL RIGHT, WELL THAT, UH, CONCLUDES OUR PROGRAM.
THERE IS A APARTMENT AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING, UH, DOWN TO THE LEFT.
AND, UH, OF COURSE, THE PLAYGROUND, THE GROUNDS YOU'RE WELCOME TO, UH, TO LOOK AROUND AND EAT SOME OF THE FINE, UH, REFRESHMENTS THAT WE'VE PREPARED FOR YOU.