Houston Housing Authority officials attempted to quell concerns Wednesday evening from the critics of a mixed-income housing complex planned in the midst of a high-end community, contending there is a need to build a project in an area with options for good schools, amenities and low crime rates.

Hundreds of residents of the community between the Galleria and Tanglewood came in force to the public meeting at Briargrove Elementary School. The large auditorium was packed with a standing-room-only crowd by the time the meeting began. The opponents often yelled and booed as housing authority President and CEO Tory Gunsolley addressed some of the main resident concerns.

"There is demand," Gunsolley said. "There are over 100,000 households who would benefit from this type of affordable housing. ... Houston should sustain its historic affordability by encouraging mixed-income neighborhoods. That's exactly what we are going to do here."

The conflict in the Houston high-end neighborhood comes after a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year ruled that concentrating low-income housing only in areas with high minority populations and high poverty rates could violate the Fair Housing Act.

Objections by the area residents to the project planned at 2640 Fountain View include claims of wasteful government spending, school crowding, traffic worsening and property values dropping in the west Houston neighborhoods, which include Briargrove, Charnwood and Tanglewood.

The $53 million project would have 233 units and house people who earn a range of incomes. It is the authority's first attempt to build in an area that federal officials designate as a "high opportunity," meaning it has low poverty rates, good schools and ample retail.

By the time the complex is slated to open, the new Mark White Elementary School will be serving children from four nearby schools, including Briargrove Elementary, to handle overflow attendance.

Quality schools

Fair housing advocates say children who live in low-income housing can benefit from quality schools. They say the complex is a small step to rectify years of segregation.

At times the crowd turned on Gunsolley and other housing officials, loudly scoffing at their arguments defending the project.

Councilman Greg Travis vowed to block the project's funding at the City Council, which will consider the project.

The meeting also attracted several fair housing advocates and people who could use low-income housing.

"All parents want their kids to go to quality schools." Tiffany Hogue, research and policy director at the Texas Organizing Project. "That is the ticket out of poverty."

Gunsolley said in planning where to build its next projects, the housing authority chose eight sites for development and only three received federal approval. He says the federal government has been clear that more housing should be built in places with low crime rates and good schools. In addition, disaster recovery funds are now tied to where they choose to build following an agreement made in 2010 between state fair housing advocates and the Houston Housing Authority.

'Exposed to lawsuits'

"Without this site, we believe HHA and the city of Houston would be exposed to lawsuits," Gunsolley said.

The project will be paid for using a combination of grants, bonds, low-income housing tax credits and federal disaster recovery funds from Hurricane Ike. Studio and one- and two-bedroom units would be available to qualifying renters at a range of prices, some affordable to low-income and working-class Houstonians and others at market rates. The authority will need to partner with a lender and investor and obtain government approvals before construction can begin.

One in five of the apartments will have market-rate rents; 10 percent will be subsidized for families earning 30 percent of the area's median income, currently $69,300 for a family in Houston; the remainder will be available to those earning 60 percent of the median income. About 60 elementary-age children would live there. Gunsolley pointed out that many Galleria-area workers cannot afford to live there.

Both sides have created websites with information arguing their cases: hhadevelopment.com and StopFountainViewProject.org.