When Hurricane Beryl ripped through Houston in July, it left one East End family with a ceiling that rained onto the kitchen table, a roof on the verge of collapse and a living room that doubled as a breeding ground for mold. 

Jesús and Leslie Aviles couldn’t move themselves and their two children out of that house fast enough.

Now the couple, alongside their two kids Ariel, 6, and John, 4, live in Lockwood on Buffalo Bayou, the first phase of an 18-acre development on the East End that includes affordable housing and outdoor amenities for Houstonians.

The effort is part of the Buffalo Bayou Parnership’s 10-year, $310-million project to revitalize the green spaces and infrastructure that make up the stretch of the Buffalo Bayou that flows throughout the Greater East End and Fifth Ward.

“When we were boyfriend and girlfriend, we used to walk these trails, go around to Tony Marron Park and everything was this giant, wooded area,” Leslie said.

Thirteen years later, the Aviles live in a two-bedroom apartment inside the complex off of Drennan Street that has replaced the overgrown brush they used to navigate as teenagers.

During a ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Houston) commended the Buffalo Bayou Partnership and its real estate partner, Brinshore Development, for establishing the project’s first affordable housing apartment complex.

“I can’t think of a better thing to compliment a park and green space, but (Lockwood on Buffalo Bayou),” Garcia said. “As you all know, there is a housing crisis in America. It is not just here in Houston. It is all over America, and we need to do more.”

Lockwood on Buffalo Bayou

The Aviles’ new home sits on the southern edge of Buffalo Bayou between Tony Marron Park and Lockwood Drive. A total of 80 units make up the two, four-story buildings — 72 units of which are designated as affordable. 

That means Houstonians who make between $21,300 and $56,700 — 30-80 percent of the city’s average median income — can qualify to live in Lockwood.

The next two phases of the project will include another 80-unit building with 72 affordable units reserved for residents ages 55 and older as well as a collection of 76 single family homes and townhomes, half of which will be earmarked as affordable housing.

All of these phases are intended to connect East End residents via hike and bike trails, parks and housing to the center of the city as part of the larger, 10-year Buffalo Bayou East plan, Council Member Mario Castillo said on Saturday.

“This is a project that really shows you what can be done when we come together from the local level to the county level to the federal, state and private sector stepping in,” he added.

Funding for the initial apartment complex comes from a $15 million federal housing tax credit, another $1.3 million from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs as well as a $9.8 million contribution from the city, which was structured as a forgivable loan, according to a Buffalo Bayou Partnership spokesperson.

What to expect next

If all goes to plan, by 2032, Buffalo Bayou East will have transformed the Greater East End and Fifth Ward. 

According to the partnership’s master plan, those efforts will reenvision the once-industrial neighborhood that connects Houston’s Ship Channel into an intersectional community of “parks, trails, bayou-crossing bridges, affordable housing, cultural destinations and infrastructure improvements.”

In the coming months, construction will begin on nearby Tony Marron Park, which Buffalo Bayou Partnership and its partners will expand from 19 to 40 acres and will link Lockwood on Buffalo Bayou to the park as well as convert an abandoned rail easement between North York Street and Lockwood Drive into a pedestrian, bike and car-friendly accessible area.

During Saturday’s festivities Jesús Aviles smiled as his eldest, Ariel, had rainbow-colored streaks painted across her cheeks for Lockwood’s first neighborhood party hosted by the Buffalo Bayou Partnership.

For now, the 28-year-old is just happy to have a dishwasher.

“We have our own washer and dryer, too,” the mechanic added. “So what is there to complain?”

Disclosure: The Kinder Foundation, which provided a $100 million gift for the Buffalo Bayou East project, is a financial supporter of the Houston Landing and holds a seat on the Landing’s board of directors. The Landing’s former chief operating officer, Emily Keeton, also serves as a board member for the Buffalo Bayou Partnership. The Kinder Foundation and Keeton had no influence on decisions related to the reporting and publishing of this article. The Landing’s ethics policy and list of financial supporters are available online. 

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