A $2.1 million federally funded project will provide 4,200 residents living in the city's public housing properties with air-conditioning.
The Greater Houston region has seen triple-digit weather since June this year. Tenants in the Houston Housing Authority (HHA)'s affordable housing will be provided with some relief during the over 100-degree weather through their new Heat Relief Initiative.
"With record-high heat indexes becoming the new reality in Houston, the work we do today will bring relief to current and future residents alike. Our hope is that we have set a new standard, becoming a model for other housing authorities to pursue the well-being of their residents," HHA Chair LaRence Snowden said in a press release.
The authority's president and CEO, David Northern, said people should never have to endure intolerable conditions.
"We're talking about seniors with disabilities, people that may have asthma and other issues that heat may make worse," he said. "Our young kids that's trying to study and do their work in the heat."
Currently, there are no mandates requiring public housing to have air conditioning in Houston or Texas. Northern said he was surprised by that.
"That was something that I was taken back of. I'm from up north. Worked in [the] Chicago area for most of my career in housing. And we provided AC in that area," he said.
The HHA's Heat Relief Initiative will be federally funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Northern said he expects to have units in place over the next several weeks.
Representatives from the HHA said local businesses can also submit bids to participate in the installations.
"We recognize the talent within the local business community and invite Houston's business community, specializing in air conditioning installation, to submit bids immediately," Northern said in a press release.
