Courtesy of yahoo
As Beyoncé Knowles wraps up the European leg of her Renaissance World Tour, she and her former Destiny’s Child collaborator Kelly Rowland are turning their attention back home: The pop icons are teaming up with Harris County to launch a permanent housing complex in Houston’s midtown area, officials announced at a press conference on Tuesday.
The Knowles-Rowland project is estimated to cost around $8.4 million, with $7.2 million in funds provided via the American Rescue Plan as well as other financial backers, including Rice University, according to the Houston Chronicle. In addition to creating 31 new permanent housing units, the complex will reportedly incorporate a support staff of case managers and service workers to assist residents with everything from transportation to mental and behavioral health.
Harris County judge Lina Hidalgo referenced the musicians’ continued presence in the area, where both have invested in charitable initiatives over the years. Beyoncé Knowles was born in Houston; Rowland relocated to the area from Atlanta as a child and grew up there. The Knowles-Rowland Project took shape when Knowles, Rowland, and Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams funded a youth center in Houston with their earnings from the 1998 hit single “No, No, No Pt. 1.”
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Hidalgo also praised the joint efforts of local officials and the Coalition for the Homeless in reducing homelessness in the area by 20% amid the pandemic: “We just did the homeless count again, so it’s initiatives like this one I certainly will be supportive of no matter who’s behind it, but it’s especially interesting because there are these names of Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland, who, of course, have been supportive of the community for a very long time.”
Hidalgo teased an even “bigger launch” for the project to be unveiled later in the year around the time the Renaissance tour makes its way to Houston’s NRG Stadium, where Beyoncé has two consecutive shows scheduled at the venue for September 23 and 24.
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest