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City council member upset over lack of support for senior housing project

Beaumont city council member Mike Getz says the city missed out on a prime housing opportunity in downtown Beaumont.

A Beaumont city council member says the city missed an opportunity for a senior housing project at a time of short supply in housing.

The city council asked the Beaumont Housing Authority to draw up a 150-unit housing project for seniors 55 years or older, making at most $24,000 a year.

City council member Mike Getz says he never got an explanation why the project wasn’t supported, other than it wasn’t a good fit.

“Who says no to an $18 million project on land that the Beaumont Housing Authority would've paid the city of Beaumont market price for? Who does that? We have a need here for housing especially after Hurricane Harvey," Getz said.

The project would sit next to the great lawn across from the Event Centre in downtown Beaumont.

“They [the Beaumont Housing Authority] did what the city asked, and then when they spent the time and resources to do that, the city of Beaumont says, well, now it's not a good fit. I don't understand it," Getz said.

James Levine says he understands that other seniors like him may not have easy access to affordable housing.

"I've heard a lot of effort being made, a lot of buildings have been built and there are requests from various people to build more," Levine said.

Getz says it was an ideal location near the new Best Years Center.

"I would love to see this project come back and maybe be reevaluated next year but I don't know if that's even possible," Getz said.

Levine says he is hopeful that housing development will continue in the near future.

"There have been some very good strides made in providing homes for people who don't make a lot of money," Levine said.

Beaumont Housing Authority says that they are applying for a housing tax credit for a 100 multi-family unit at Concord Homes.

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