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“We’ve got to figure out solutions so that the people that work in Galveston can live in Galveston. For so many of our teachers, firefighters, public servants, and health care workers, Galveston is unaffordable. BUILD Galveston is working to change that—creating viable strategies and actions for affordable housing in healthy neighborhoods across the island.”
-Tim Harlin, Executive Vice President and CEO, University of Texas Medical Branch’s Health System
Vision Galveston’s BUILD Galveston is committed to helping make Galveston a diverse and civically engaged community in which residents can afford to live in homes and healthy neighborhoods across the island. The initiative’s mission is to assemble, leverage, and utilize resources to strengthen our community's social, physical, and economic environment to make that vision happen.
Since 2010, Galveston has lost an estimated net total of 775 families with children. The loss of affordable housing partly affects the disappearance of young families on the island.
More than 65% of island workers commute from off the island (equating to an estimated 21,255 people working in Galveston who don’t live in Galveston). Fifty percent of Galveston residents have a housing cost burden, meaning their income to cost of housing ratio is too high, making it harder to afford other living expenses.
According to Vision Galveston’s research, the three top reasons Galveston workers (who live off the island) prefer the mainland: 1. More affordable housing prices (37%), 2. Higher quality neighborhoods (22%), and school district preferences (21%).
2021 Highlights and Milestones
On May 17, 2021, BUILD Galveston received its 501(c)(3) designation and began operations as a supporting organization of Vision Galveston. BUILD Galveston spearheads Vision Galveston’s efforts to bring cost-attainable workforce housing to the Galveston community. These efforts skew to teachers, nurses, first responders, public servants, young professionals, middle-income families, nonprofit professionals, and seniors.
According to community feedback, affordable homeownership and rental properties would create needed housing options for a diverse workforce. By the end of 2025, BUILD Galveston’s goal is to increase the supply of workforce housing by developing and preserving more than 150 apartments and houses and converting 2% of the current commuter population to residents.
After its incorporation as a community development corporation, BUILD Galveston retained consulting firm Urban Focus to identify and study potential workforce housing sites, high-impact areas (infill housing or more significant mixed-income housing development sites) that potential development partners could use.
As part of a public awareness and continued engagement effort, Vision Galveston also published a three-part blog series detailing population loss on the island (particularly among young families), the rise of short-term rentals, and the collective cause of and effect on Galveston.
In early fall 2021, Texas Monthly published a feature story that detailed the need for workforce housing in Galveston (driven by housing inventory constraints caused by tourism and other influences) and Vision Galveston’s work to mitigate these factors.
In November, The Galveston Daily News published a special report about housing costs on Galveston Island, delving into the many facets of housing, including its effects on the local economy and culture. The story also detailed work by local leaders, including Vision Galveston.