History/Background
In 1992, a group of Third Ward civic leaders founded Third Ward Redevelopment Council to develop a master plan to guide the revitalization of the Greater Third Ward area. The planning team headed by Roberta F. Burroughs & Associates completed the Greater Third Ward Community Plan in 1995. One of the top priorities identified by hundreds of residents, business owners, churches, schools, universities, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders participating in the planning process was economic development.
Expanding the capacity of existing businesses and bringing new businesses into the Greater Third Ward area to provide much needed products and services was tackled immediately. Two development tools selected to facilitate economic revitalization were (1) establishment of a tax increment reinvestment zone to provide a financing mechanism to stimulate development and redevelopment in the area and (2) creation of a management district to maintain improvements and promote business development.
Councilmember and later Mayor Pro Tem Jew Don Boney carried the torch at City Hall to establish the Old Spanish Trail/Almeda Corridors TIRZ. Representative Garnet Coleman and other community leaders including Zinetta A. Burney, Rev. William P. Lawson and Algenita Scott Davis helped make the vision identified by Third Ward stakeholders become a reality.
Reinvestment Zone Number Seven, City of Houston, TX(TIRZ #7)
Reinvestment Zone Number Seven, City of Houston, TX, also known as the Old Spanish Trail/Almeda Corridors Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ #7) was created May 1997 by Houston City Council to provide financing and management tools necessary for alleviating blight along the Almeda, Old Spanish Trail, Griggs and Emancipation Avenue corridors and within the historic Third Ward area encouraging the sound growth of residential, commercial, and complementary retail development within the Zone. The current Zone consists of approximately 2165.31 acres with annexations in December 1998, May 2008, September 2013, December 2016, December 2019, and September 2023 along with de-annexation of a 0.3-acre parcel in December 2020.
During its 42-year life, TIRZ #7 will help finance approximately $308,364,201 million dollars of the following improvements and services:
| Infrastructure Improvements (Roadway, Sidewalk, & Public Utility Improvements) | $108,733,837 |
| Parks, Recreational Facilities, and Other Public Spaces Improvements | $44,863,724 |
| Land Acquisition | $13,796,3165 |
| Business Development & Catalyst Projects | $6,998,395 |
| Economic Development Infrastructure Projects | $16,695,890 |
| School and Educations Facilities | $ 4,678,820 |
| Affordable Housing | $3,500,000 |
| Financing Costs | $74,400,175 |
| Zone Administration | $15,000,000 |
| Project Plan Total: | $308,364,201 |
OST/Almeda Corridors Redevelopment Authority
The OST/Almeda Corridors Redevelopment Authority, a local government corporation, was created in July 1998 by the Houston City Council to administer TIRZ #7 Project Plan and Financing Plan. The Authority is governed by a Board of seven members with six appointed by the Mayor and City Council and one appointed by Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Trustees.
