Avenue Community Development Corporation

Avenue's mission is to build affordable homes and strengthen communities. We improve our communities to enhance the quality of life of working families, and to promote healthy, vibrant, and economically diverse neighborhoods to ensure Houston's future as a world-class city. We strive to address community needs on two levels – at the level of the individual/family, and at the level of the community at large. Our two over-arching goals are to:

1) Support low-income households in attaining a stable, healthy, and sustainable living situation.

2) Revitalize and stabilize low-income communities by improving the area's overall livability and quality of life across sectors.
In our target areas we work not only to develop affordable homes, but also to promote inclusive and vibrant communities in which residents of all income levels have the opportunity to thrive.

In all our activities, Avenue works to effect considered, proactive planning and investment that promote economic opportunity and an enhanced quality of life in the communities we serve.

1) Avenue supports low-income households in attaining a stable, sustainable living situation by:

a) Developing and maintaining affordable homes.
We develop safe, quality homes accessible to low- and moderate-income families. We use green building techniques to create environments that are healthy and energy-efficient. We develop a range of housing options, for purchase and for rent, that support the sustainability of diverse, mixed-income communities. We also help rehabilitate the homes of very low-income veterans, seniors, and disabled persons.

b) Providing asset building services to families.

We offer asset building services to help low- to moderate-income Houstonians improve their financial circumstances. Our Homeownership Center provides HUD-certified homebuyer education, home preservation and foreclosure prevention counseling, and financial capability coaching. Through these services we help Houstonians strengthen their finances by learning how to improve credit scores, increase savings, pay down debt and build assets.

c) Delivering supportive services to residents.

We provide a range of services to support the residents of our affordable rental complexes. Services for children include after-school tutoring, computer labs and other enrichment activities. Services for adults include financial workshops, exercise and recreational activities, parenting clubs, health and nutrition classes and more.

2) Avenue revitalizes low-income communities and improves the area's overall livability and quality of life by:

a) Running intensive community building and engagement and resident leadership programs.

We bring residents and community stakeholders together to collaboratively address critical social needs in the neighborhood. We encourage and develop grassroots leadership and activism, supporting residents to advocate for the resources they need and build the communities they envision. We provide support to community-led projects that seek to improve educational opportunities and outcomes, health, public safety and mobility, and that nurture environmental stewardship, historic preservation and local arts and culture.

b) Supporting local economic development initiatives.

We aim to expand economic opportunities for area residents by working with local businesses to increase revenue, attract investment and create jobs. We spurred the creation of the Greater Northside Chamber of Commerce and a new branding and marketing campaign for the Near Northside to promote the area and attract visitors, business and visibility. Through façade improvement grants, and commercial corridor art projects, we support the local business corridor in its redevelopment and growth.

Avenue's organizational capacity is strong, backed by 29 years of experience in supporting and uplifting vulnerable communities in Houston. Our Executive Director, Mary Lawler, has led the organization since 1996. The senior management team consists of six directors who are not only experts in their fields (Asset Building, Community Building & Engagement, Finance, Development & Communication, Rental Housing, Single Family Housing), but also skilled managers, able to take on a variety of important roles at the organization as needed. Our depth of management has enabled us to meet the financial and operational challenges inherent in the boom and bust cycles of Houston while maintaining steady, healthy growth.

Avenue's active Board of Trustees works closely with executive staff in strategic and operational planning and monitors the organization's programming and property development year round through bimonthly meetings. A third of the current board members live in our target area and offer extremely valuable perspectives in guiding our work.

Avenue's financial health is excellent. We maintain a strong balance sheet that permits us to initiate and sustain major development projects. Furthermore, we have developed diverse funding streams to bolster our long term sustainability. More than 60% of Avenue's income is self-generated through fees and rental revenue. Other revenue sources include foundations, corporations and individuals.
We are proud to have earned the rating of Exemplary from NeighborWorks America, a national non-profit created by Congress to fund a network of 230 local organizations across the United States. This rigorous annual review analyzes Avenue's financial, programmatic and organizational operations. We have earned an Exemplary rating consecutively every year since our first review in 2002 when we became a NeighborWorks Charter Member.

Avenue has a proven track record in affordable housing development, resident engagement and community revitalization in Houston's Greater Northside. To date, we have leveraged $124 million in investments in greater Northside, including the development of 214 single-family homes, 800 rental units and 200,000 square feet of commercial space. We currently provide over 600 families a year with homebuyer education and financial coaching. In 2019, we coordinated 261 partner organizations and 18,950 volunteers in implementing 92 special projects. Our sustained, targeted investment strategy has resulted in visible, lasting improvements in the community we serve.

To date, Avenue has leveraged $124 million in investments in greater Northside, including the development of 214 single-family homes, 800 rental units and 200,000 square feet of commercial space. Between 2010-2017, we coordinated 264 partner organizations and 20,000 volunteers in implementing 200 projects and programs. We currently provide over 1,000 families a year with homebuyer education and financial coaching.

In 2020, we:

• Operated 800 affordable rental units.
• Constructed and sold 6 affordable single-family homes.
• Developed 79 new affordable rental units and preserved 130 affordable rental units.
• Rehabilitated 7 homes owned by very low-income homeowners in need.
• Provided 1,048 households with homebuyer education and/or counseling.
• Processed 251 subordinate loans to low-income homebuyers, to make their mortgages more affordable.
• Counseled 55 homeowners in foreclosure prevention; 42 of these clients were able to retain their homes.
• Provided 242 households with rental and mortgage assistance.
• Provided $1.8 M in direct assistance funds in partnership with Harris County to 1,393 households.
• Spent 107 hours making over 16,000 calls to ensure community members filled out the Census.
• Engaged over 100,000 people and engaged over 45,000 people virtually.
• Hosted 7 Drive-Thru Events serving over 5000 families.

There is no shortage of need in the Houston area, and more work remains to be done. Our vision is to promote healthy, vibrant and economically diverse neighborhoods to ensure Houston's future as a world-class city. We proactively seek opportunities to extend our reach, our learning, and our impact.