Houston spent millions for public housing to have AC. What went wrong?

In the fall of 2023, to great fanfare, Houston's public housing finally got air conditioning .

The Houston Housing Authority hired 21 contractors to install 1,615 window units in Cuney Homes, Irvington Village and Kelly Village, more commonly known as Kelly Courts. It agreed to pay $1.2 million for the AC units and $650 for each to be installed, for a total of $2.2 million in federal funding – though the authority left room for that number to increase if more AC units were needed.

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But many residents said that their AC units were removed days after they were installed.

"They came in maybe a week later and said they had to switch them because they put them in wrong," said Parys Burks, a Kelly Courts resident. "They said we could only have one downstairs and one upstairs, because it was a safety hazard."

The housing authority declined to comment on how many units were uninstalled, the reasons why and the costs involved, citing an ongoing investigation into how contracts for the AC installation were awarded. KPRC has reported that the AC installation costs ultimately soared to $54 million .

It's clear the rollout did not go as anticipated. The Houston Chronicle spoke with half a dozen public housing residents who said their window units were uninstalled shortly after they were installed.

Public housing lacked AC for decades

All three public housing complexes are two-story brick affairs dating from around 1940. With few trees for shade, they absorb heat throughout the day and release it at night, long leaving residents to sweat out the summers with whatever fans or window units they could afford. All three public housing complexes are slated to be demolished and replaced with new housing, lively subsidized by vouchers.

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The multimillion-dollar window unit initiative was meant to cool down residents until they could move into newly developed housing, but many AC units were uninstalled before they could be used for even one summer. Contractors left uninstalled units on Burks' floor, where they have lain unused and taking space for the year since. Burks said she and her family slept in the one room with AC because it was too hot to sleep in the other rooms.

Unlike temporary window units that tenants might install themselves, the units installed as part of the Heat Relief Initiative were not meant for easy removal. Instead, they were installed using metal panels, support brackets and sealant.

Multiple tenants said those window units were removed shortly before their apartments were inspected.

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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's housing quality standards require that every apartment have an acceptable fire exit, such as a backdoor or an openable window if the unit is on the first floor or second floor. The International Fire Code states every emergency exit be operable without use of keys or tools.

Price Consulting, which prepared the scope of work outlining how many window AC units would be needed and how they were supposed to be installed, did not respond to questions about whether exiting the building in the case of a fire was a consideration when calculating how many window AC units to install. It recommended one AC unit each for one-bedroom apartments and two AC units each for larger apartments.

The scope of work did include having Price Consulting and the Houston Housing Authority inspect the work once it was "substantially complete." The consultant and housing authority would need to notify the contractor in writing if items required further consideration.

Enduring 'intolerable' heat

When the housing authority board voted in October to hire outside legal counsel to examine its contracts , it said in a release that it had "recently implemented a rigorous vetting process for all contractors and partners, including background checks and verification of required contractor documentation."

At the same meeting, the board voted to have a consultant evaluate the authority's president, David A. Northern, Sr. Northern had trumpeted the window units as a "commitment to our clients" that meant they would never again have to endure "intolerable" heat.

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Currently, he is on paid administrative leave after the board approved a resolution that said it had been "presented with information that warrants investigation of the president and chief executive officer" — specifically whether he has complied with his contractual and fiduciary duties.

After the vote, Northern said in an email that he was confident the investigation would not turn up any grounds for removal.

Myoshia Jones, who lives at the Kelly Courts, said she was one of the many who were confused by why contractors installed an AC unit only to take it out less than two weeks later.

"So we had it brand new, but it was just sitting there gathering dust on the ground."

This summer, when record heat lasted well into October , she decided the waste was too much. Her boyfriend propped up the window unit outside the window and plugged it in.