A Year in Review for Long-Term Disaster Recovery
This year marks the start of a new chapter for thousands of Texas families devastated by Hurricane Harvey. This includes hundreds who have an elevated, storm-hardened house to call home thanks to the Texas General Land Office’s (GLO) Homeowner Assistance Program. Or the thousands who received an unexpected reimbursement for eligible out-of-pocket home repairs from the Homeowner Reimbursement Program — the first of its kind in Texas. Many communities along the coast are seeing multifamily affordable rental properties rebuilt, homes bought out, infrastructure fortified, and studies on new ways to mitigate flood damage, thanks to the efforts of the GLO to effectively and efficiently administer federal recovery funds. The road to recovery is long, but the Texas General Land Office remains committed to building stronger and better than before the storm for a more resilient future.
The GLO administers the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds on behalf of the state of Texas. To date, more than $10 billion in combined CDBG-DR funds have been allocated to Texas for long-term housing recovery efforts following Hurricane Harvey.
Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP)
The GLO allocated $1.334 billion in Harvey recovery funds to the Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP) for rehabilitation and reconstruction of thousands of owner-occupied single-family homes in 48 counties damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Thus far the GLO has already approved nearly 2,000 applications for construction, with more than 700 homes currently under construction and more than 430 homes completed with keys in the hands of homeowners.
The GLO is committed to helping families like the Mikulenkas from Rockport recover from natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey. We are turning federal recovery funds into housing repairs for Harvey homeowners at a record pace.
Donnie and Linda Mikulenka had long dreamed of living on the Texas coast and moved to the small community to enjoy their retirement. The couple bought a little red house and opened Haase’s Antiques and Treasures next door — paradise, Linda said.
But Hurricane Harvey did its best to destroy their dreams. On August 25, 2017, the storm crashed into Rockport with torrential rain and windspeeds of 130 mph, causing more damage and destruction than Texas had ever seen.
The family fled with their beloved dogs and took what little they could to wait out the storm. When the wind calmed and the water receded, the family returned home to find their little red house still standing — a promising sign in a community where fallen trees, peeled back roofs and gutted homes greeted many returning evacuees. Their neighbors said they were lucky. Their home was spared.
Donnie and Linda breathed a sigh of relief, but in time they realized that Harvey’s damage extended well beyond what the eye could see. Slowly, their floor began crumbling inward. Cracks emerged and floorboards sank. Mold creeped in under furniture and between walls. They needed help and turned to the Texas General Land Office.
A friend told the couple about HAP and encouraged them to apply. Their effort was met with a streamlined process, a helpful team, and a renewed sense of hope. The Mikulenkas qualified to have their home rebuilt through HAP, and soon their little red house was demolished. In its place stands a little blue house, and a new paradise. Watch the Mikulenkas tell their story here:
Homeowner Reimbursement Program (HRP)
Additionally, the GLO allocated $100 million to the state’s first ever Homeowner Reimbursement Program, offering homeowners assistance with reimbursements for eligible expenses not covered by insurance or other assistance. To date, HRP has approve reimbursed almost 1,200 applicants for over $35,000,000. The GLO continues processing submitted applications with the expectation of rebuilding or reimbursing approximately 4,000 homeowners with available funds.
After experiencing repetitive flooding in both the Memorial Day Flood in 2016 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the Pickens family in Rosenberg chose to elevate their home 10 feet above grade to mitigate against future damage. The family submitted their repairs for reimbursement from the and were approved in time for the holiday season! Watch Rose Pickens tell her family’s story here:
Multifamily Affordable Rental Program
The GLO has undertaken very impressive efforts using $450 million to rebuild 68 different affordable housing developments — accounting for 4,858 damaged or destroyed affordable rental housing units. These affordable rental homes are being rebuilt in the 48 affected counties the GLO is directly administering outside of the city of Houston and Harris County, which requested and were granted direct allocations of funds from HUD to conduct their own housing programs. Of the multifamily affordable housing units being rebuilt by the GLO, more than 75% are guaranteed to house low-to moderate-income residents for 20 years after completion of new construction and 15 years after completion of repairs. Read more about how the Texas GLO is providing assistance for renters.
The Senior Citizens Y-House Apartments in Beaumont recently welcomed residents after completing repairs on the historic, Spanish Renaissance-style building. The affordable multifamily housing complex dedicated 100% of its 40 units to low- to moderate-income elderly residents, and provides ADA-accessible accommodations, an open-air courtyard and an on-site food pantry. The Beaumont community was excited to see this historic landmark restored, especially since it allows 40 elderly residents to continue living in their hometown. Watch local news coverage of the grand opening celebration here:
Infrastructure and Buyout Programs
Many communities were overwhelmed by Hurricane Harvey as heavy rainfall caused flooding of streets and homes, threatening public health, safety, and welfare. The GLO allocated $413 million of the Hurricane Harvey recovery funds for infrastructure projects to fortify communities against future disasters. Local leaders prioritized these projects to ensure the most effective use of available funds for infrastructure improvements. The GLO also allocated $275 million for local buyout and acquisition programs to relocate families out of repeatedly flooded areas. Thus far, more than 100 applications for infrastructure projects and buyout/acquisition programs have been approved.
Infrastructure grants will be used for street improvements, facilitating proper stormwater conveyance, providing continued street access during rain events and reducing the impact of future flooding as well as facilitating proper functioning of critical wastewater-system components to reduce the impact of sewage contamination and backflow in emergency situations. Buyout programs will remove homes located in a floodplain or repetitive flood areas from harm’s way. These recovery funds are critical to improving local infrastructure that will protect lives, homes and businesses from future storms.
CDBG — Mitigation
In November, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced the release of the state’s action plan detailing the distribution and eligible uses of $4,297,189,000 in Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist Texas communities with mitigation projects. These projects will address risks within the areas impacted Hurricane Harvey as well as the 2015 Floods and 2016 Floods. The plan has been published for public comment on the GLO’s recovery website at recovery.texas.gov/public-notices/index.html. Public comments received prior to 5:00 p.m. on Monday, January 6, 2020, will be considered. The GLO will respond to these comments in the final submission of the document to HUD for approval. The GLO also hosted seven public hearings across the funding eligible counties. The hearings were held in Beaumont, Austin, Corpus Christi, Rockport, Dallas, Weslaco (Rio Grande Valley), and Houston. This historic outreach effort resulted in valuable feedback that will be considered as the GLO finalizes the action plan to send to HUD by Feb. 2,2020, for final approval. For more information and a complete timeline of the mitigation funding, please visit https://recovery.texas.gov/mitigation.
Texas Back in Business
Texas Back in Business is the $100 million Hurricane Harvey relief program for Texas small businesses. Texas small business owners can apply for grants from $50,000 up to $250,000 online at texasbackinbusiness.com. Texas Back in Business will take applications until March 2, 2020. Once the intake process concludes, the order of the applications will be randomized and Texas Back in Business staff will contact applicants to determine eligibility.
Starting 2020 with more recovery successes!
We are proud to be setting a record pace towards helping thousands of Texas families rebuild their homes and their lives. We continue to work with our partners in communities across the region to leverage these resources efficiently and effectively to benefit Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey.
