$2.6M Construction Grant Fuels New Mixed-Use Community Center
Avenue Center planned for Irvington Blvd. site.
HOUSTON – (By Dale King, Realty News Report) – Avenue, a local nonprofit focused on creating affordable housing and strengthening neighborhoods, has announced plans for Avenue Center, a mixed-use community resource hub to be built across from Moody Park in Near Northside. Near Northside is one of the initial neighborhoods in Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Complete Communities initiative.
The project received a significant boost when the City of Houston disclosed that Avenue Center is one of four regional projects selected to share a $6.5 million pledge from the United Arab Emirates to support Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts. The UAE funding targets community revitalization, homelessness services, libraries, and public health programs.
Avenue is expected to receive approximately $2.6 million from that UAE allocation.
The organization is currently conducting a capital campaign and has secured more than $2.1 million for the project from public and private sources, including foundations and other funders.
“We are excited to reveal our plans for Avenue Center, a new mixed-use community complex designed to meet the needs of Near Northside residents,” said Mary Lawler, Avenue’s executive director.
“For many years we have partnered with residents of Near Northside to support local revitalization while preserving the neighborhood’s history, culture and affordability.”
The three-story building planned for 3527 Irvington Blvd. will provide roughly 30,500 square feet of community program space. It will house Avenue’s headquarters, a realty office and Home Ownership Center, as well as a health clinic and an early childhood education center to help address the shortage of services for young children in the Near Northside area.
Lawler indicated that Avenue Center is projected to open in early 2020.
In recent years, Avenue has developed about 900 affordable homes and apartments in Houston, with many projects concentrated in the greater Northside community.
