In the spring of 2024, the Corpus Christi Housing Authority approached me and other apartment complex owners and encouraged us to participate in its new Workforce Housing Opportunities Program, designed to provide affordable rental options for working families who struggle to afford rent in the city.
Thirteen local complexes agreed to participate in the program. We signed contracts requiring us to relinquish our property rights to the CCHA and designate half of our complexes –– a total of 1,533 apartments –– for workforce housing. The complexes were removed from the property tax rolls (because the CCHA now owns the land), giving the complexes the ability to pass rent savings along to qualifying tenants.
The rents for these tenants are capped at 30% of their family incomes. This means that as market rates increase with local demand, rents for these families will remain stable and predictable, allowing them to afford and remain in their homes.
In October 2025, more than a year after the program began, Nueces County filed a taxpayer-funded lawsuit against the CCHA, contending the CCHA had approved contracts without providing appropriate notice, even though the agreements with each complex were approved in duly noticed open meetings by the CCHA Board of Commissioners. After attesting to financial institutions that it had abided by all legal requirements and denying claims it had violated any public notification requirements, CCHA commissioners abruptly reversed course on Jan. 6. They claimed that they actually had violated open meetings rules and had no choice but to void the contracts they had previously approved.
Setting new legal precedent, the CCHA is attempting to nullify agreements that have been in force for more than a year, using its own ineptitude as justification.
The chairwoman of the CCHA and one other commissioner who oversaw the creation of the program and approved of each acquisition have been joined on the CCHA board by three new commissioners appointed by Mayor Paulette Guajardo in walking back binding legal contracts and displacing working families from their homes in the process. This is a profound betrayal of trust, motivated by a desire to recapture property taxes that area leaders apparently prefer would be spent on something other than helping local working families afford to live in the city.
The owners of these complexes have held up our end of the bargain. We have paid millions in fees to the CCHA, as well as to fund legal compliance and the due diligence necessary to participate in this program. The new ownership and tax structures required every participating complex to seek new financing, which means our lenders could foreclose on our properties if our contracts are invalidated.
My company is at risk of going bankrupt because I was willing to trust and do business with the city of Corpus Christi, and my tenants are at risk of losing their homes.
It is outrageous that we must pursue litigation to force the city to honor its agreements and protect tenants the CCHA is duty-bound to serve. Using taxpayer money to break contracts and promises to families who need affordable housing is misguided and completely out of touch.
It’s time for elected and appointed officials in Nueces County to do the right thing and drop the attack on affordable housing for working families. And it’s time for residents of Corpus Christi to speak up by contacting Mayor Guajardo, City Council members, CCHA commissioners and Nueces County commissioners and telling them to stop efforts to eliminate affordable housing.
Visit saveworkforcehousing.com to learn more.
Joe Bruggeman is an apartment owner and investor.
