Housing Finance Corporations (HFCs) enable communities to provide safe, affordable housing to first-time homebuyers. The Harris County Housing Finance Corporation provides support for potential homeowners and members of the development community who value construction of quality housing for all as they contribute to the vitality of our community.
The Harris County Housing Finance Corporation (HCHFC) was created in 1980 to help low- to moderate-income families purchase homes, and guarantee those homes remain affordable for generations of future homebuyers. A nine-member board of directors — appointed by Harris County Commissioners Court — guides HCHFC in decision-making. As of 2020, HCHFC has financed over $1 billion of affordable housing, leading to the completion of more than 100 projects and over 29,000 apartment units. The corporation is not a political subdivision of Harris County, but it is exempt from Federal Income Tax. Using the authority granted by the Texas Housing Finance Corporations Act of 1979, HCHFC is working to provide financing opportunities to first-time homebuyers by emphasizing initiatives like tax-exempt bonds for affordable housing developers, single-family mortgages, and the newly established Harris County Community Land Trust program.
A combination of natural disasters, increasing housing cost burdens, and a favorable economic climate have both reduced supply while increasing the demand for affordable housing in Harris County. Although affordable housing has become increasingly limited, HCHFC has done and continues to do its part to ensure all County residents have an affordable, quality place to call home. A new partnership with the Harris County Community Services Department (CSD) promises to expand on these efforts.
For more information on the beneficial work being done at HCHFC, or if you are a housing development professional who is interested in learning more about developing affordable housing opportunities in Harris County with HCHFC, please contact Rene Martinez at Rene.Martinez@csd.hctx.net or at 832-927-4824 for program information.
Our Board of Directors
HCHFC is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors appointed by the Commissioners Court. The Board guides the day-to-day operations of HCHFC and are non-salaried positions.
David Corpus is Executive Vice President-Bank President of Stellar Bank (STEL). He has worked in the banking industry for the past 37 years. His areas of expertise include commercial, industrial and commercial real estate transactions. He has extensive experience in bank mergers, acquisitions and de novos. In addition, Corpus sits on Tejano Center for Community Concerns, Inc. boards and the $200 billion Teacher Retirement System of Texas Pension Trust, first (State Appointed Official) appointed by Gov. Rick Perry in 2013 and reappointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2019.
He is also a former adjunct professor (Finance, Management and Economics) for the Houston Community College Systems. His board service with public, private and non-profit organizations spans more than 35 years. Corpus holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Management (BAS) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Our Lady of The Lake University at San Antonio.
Jason A. McLemore joined HCTRA as Deputy Director of Administration after decades of public service in the Houston region. Jason oversees the Administration Division of HCTRA, which is responsible for procurement, administrative services, facilities acquisition and management, and inventory management for the agency. His division is responsible for procuring firms to help the agency realize its mission, which is to responsibly operate and maintain a safe, reliable, sustainable, and evolving mobility system that meets the diverse connectivity needs of all Harris County residents. Notable projects that have been procured under his leadership include All Electronic Tolling and various illumination projects along Sam Houston Tollway.
From 2012 until his appointment as Deputy Director in 2021, Jason oversaw business engagements for the Houston Airport System (HAS) as the Deputy Assistant Director of the Office of Business Opportunity. Jason’s responsibilities included facilitating and promoting the utilization of certified disadvantaged minority, women, and small businesses in HAS’s professional services, construction, purchasing and concession contracts. Key contributions included managing the creation of the City of Houston Disparity Study, covering 5 years and more than $8B in procurements; increasing minority participation awards by more than $10M and the minority firm’s database by 50% to over 6,000; reestablished and maintained the Federal Aviation Administration’s Disadvantage Business Enterprise and Airport Concessionaire Disadvantage Business Enterprise Goals in addition to obtaining over $200M in federal funding.
In recognition for the achievements, Jason was recognized by the Center for Houston’s Future as a member of the inaugural class of “Leadership Next,” which invites emerging leaders under 35 to participate in leadership seminars to give young professional perspective on Houston’s growing commerce and community. Jason is also a member of Leadership Houston Class of XXXII, a 10-month program for professionals that provides exposure to Houston’s key industries, including energy, healthcare, education, and government. Jason currently serves as member of the Board of Directors for the Harris County Housing and Finance Corporation as well as a Trustee at his church Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church.
Jason is proud to call himself a graduate of The Citadel, Military College of South Carolina, class of 1999, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Chad Khan is a longtime Harris County resident and community volunteer. He is founder of Khan’s Travel N’ Tours since 1987 where he has channeled his energy and drive into making it big in the Travel business world. In 2003 Chad enter in Commercial Real Estate investment business where he found Khan’s Development, where he develops and own commercial, Residential and Class “A” Category Multifamily 250 unit complex and Shopping Center. Chad joined RE/MAX Vintage Mar 2015 and become Co-Owner of RE/MAX Northwest Realtors until March 2021. Currently practicing as a Commercial Senior Vice President with KDC, CRE.
Community Involvement:
Chad served as a Board of Director and President for Harris County Municipal District # 285; He also served as a Board of Directors Cypress Creek YMCA Board. Chad is appointed by City Council and Mayor of City of Houston as a Board Member and board elect him as a Chairman of the Board for Houston Business Development Board Inc. Served as a Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) HAR TREPAC advisor, HAR Political Affairs Advisory Group (PAAG). Elected to Houston Association of Realtors as a Board of Director 2021-2022, serving as a Director and Commercial Committee member for Texas Realtors, and National Association of Realtors (NAR) Diversity & Inclusion committee member.
Thao Costis is Interim Executive Director of Harris County Community Services Department (CSD), which addresses the housing, infrastructure and public service needs of low- to moderate-income communities in Harris County. CSD also administers the County’s federally funded disaster recovery activities, including the Post Disaster Relocation and Buyout Program.
In her prior 15 years, Thao served as President and CEO of SEARCH Homeless Services, a leading Houston agency which uses federal and local funds to help people move from the streets into jobs and safe, stable housing. From early in her career, Thao has always focused on ways to build a better thriving community for all.
Thao has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Texas and an MBA from the University of Houston.
Judge Jefferson is Of Counsel with Grealish McZeal P.C. and a retired State District Judge (215th District Court of Harris County, Texas). He has over 30 years of litigation experience, beginning as an in-house counsel for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. He has been a certified mediator since 1997, and an American Arbitration Association approved arbitrator since 2006. The Judge currently holds an AV Peer Review rating from Martindale-Hubbell. The Judge was appointed to the bench by Governor George W. Bush in 1995, and subsequently elected to a full term the following year 1996; where he served until retiring and returning to private practice in 1999.
Practice Areas
Mediation
Arbitration
Litigation
Mediation
• The Judge has mediated hundreds of cases including cases involving personal injuries, construction disputes, commercial litigation, and class actions.
Arbitration
• The Judge is an American Arbitration Association Panelist on the Construction, Commercial, Employment, Class Action, and Mass Tort/Complex Litigation panels. He has served as Arbitrator on numerous cases from all these Panels over the past 20 years.
Litigation
• The Judge has represented clients in the litigation of personal injury, commercial, trademark infringement, class action, environmental, employment, federal securities, and federal white-collar criminal cases. He has also served as an expert witness in state and federal courts on judicial issues, reasonableness of verdicts, and attorney fees in personal injury, commercial, construction, insurance and mass tort cases.
The Judge has served as Ad Litem and Special Master, in Harris County State Courts.
Public Service
• Member of the Texas Federal Judicial Advisory Committee, as an appointee of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
• Member of Mayor Annise Parker’s transition team on the Committee that recommended appointment of the Presiding Judge of the City of Houston Municipal Courts.
• Member of the Board of Directors, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO)
Education
University of Texas School of Law (J.D., 1983)
University of Texas (B.A., Government, 1978)
A.A. White Dispute Resolution Center, University of Houston Law Center (Certified International Arbitrator 2006)
Admitted
State Bar of Texas, 1984
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. District Court of Texas, Southern, Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Circuits
U.S. District Court of Illinois, Northern District
U.S. District Court of Alabama, Southern District
U.S. District Court of Kentucky, Western District
Affiliations
State Bar of Texas
Houston Bar Association
American Arbitration Association
American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
Representative Decisions
• While the Presiding Judge of the 215th Civil Judicial District of Harris County, Texas, presided over the $1.3 billion jury verdict in a commercial fraud lawsuit by a Russian immigrant inventor against investors in the marine company he founded, and against his law firm.
• Presided over the first lawsuit to enforce the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act involving tetrachloroethylene (perc). This case, and Judge Jefferson’s rulings, were matters of first impression by a Texas court. The issue was finally resolved by the Texas Supreme Court.
Representative Cases
• NCAA Concussion Class Action Litigation ( Member Plaintiffs Steering Committee)
• Served as co-counsel representing approximately 4,000 Plaintiffs in an environmental contamination case against the City of Jacksonville, Florida, and its insurers, which settled for $25 Million.
• Served as co-counsel on litigation of radiation contamination case against a major oil company in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, involving approximately 2,000 clients which settled for $10.5 Million.
• Represented the manager of the recording artist Destiny’s Child in 2002 defending him and his companies in multi-million-dollar litigation brought by 2 former group members and the estate of the deceased co-manager of the group.
Representative Expert Witness Experience
• Served as an expert witness in multi-million-dollar litigation involving a major private trust where he provided expert testimony regarding matters related to injunctive relief available to the Plaintiffs.
• Served as an expert witness in an insurance coverage case arising from the settlement of a case involving the wrongful death of a nursing home resident, and provided testimony regarding the reasonableness of the settlement as it related to the apportionment of the settlement amount between actual damages and punitive damages.
Representative Ad Litem Experience
• Served as ad litem in the first fen-phen pharmaceutical case to go to trial in Harris County.
• Served as ad litem in cases involving child sexual assaults.
Representative Special Master Experience
• Served as a special master in a shareholder’s class action case against a Canadian corporation; and in a case involving an attorney’s fees dispute arising from a multi-million dollar verdict in a fraud and breach-of-contract case brought by a Mexican company against Wal-Mart.
Personal Background
• Graduate Fox Tech High School, San Antonio, Texas
• Co-Captain University of Texas Longhorn Football Team 1978
• Member, Texas Cowboys, University of Texas Service Organization 1977-79
• Free Agent Contract Player Oakland Raiders Professional Football Team 1079
For information on the Housing Finance Corporation and our programs contact:
Rene Martinez, Executive Director
Phone: 832-927-4824
Email: rene.martinez@csd.hctx.net