Houston 800 Middle Street Affordable Housing Project Construction Buffalo Bayou

Construction site for Houston's 800 Middle Street affordable housing project near Buffalo Bayou.

In the latest revelations about a controversial Houston housing project under construction adjacent to contaminated land, activists say the Houston Housing Authority (HHA) understated the height of a decades-old radio tower by two thirds, placing the planned residential community within the “fall zone” of the tower.

The property at Houston’s 800 Middle Street has drawn scrutiny since the HHA purchased the land in 2020, despite warnings that there were adjacent unremedied environmental hazards potentially affecting the soil and air quality.

800 Middle Street environmental assessment 1
800 Middle Street environmental assessment 2

Holly Hansen is a reporter for The Texan living in Harris County. Her former column, “All In Perspective” ran in The Georgetown Advocate, Jarrell Star Ledger, and The Hill Country News, and she has contributed to a variety of Texas digital media outlets. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Central Florida with a degree in History, and in addition to writing about politics and policy, also writes about faith and culture.

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