Last month, we brought you a story about people residing in a Fourth Ward, Houston Housing Authority property, voicing their complaints regarding deplorable and unsafe living conditions. Now, Silgo Construction Incorporated, a subcontractor hired to work on the same property, is corroborating the tenants' claims.

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Our previous coverage detailed the plight of an 86-year-old woman who spoke out about health and safety concerns at this Houston Housing Authority property in the Fourth Ward.

Scope of Work and Initial Challenges

Evelyn Chirinos, the project manager of Silgo Construction, explained that they began work in May 2023. The scope of their work primarily involved exterior painting, repairing siding as needed, and in the interior, replacing some cabinets, granite, doing drywall work, rough plumbing, rough electrical, and window trim. It was mainly remodeling work and not remediation. However, they soon faced unexpected issues.Workers started encountering mold problems within the units. The conditions were extremely poor, with lots of mold present. Chirinos made it clear that cleaning up the mold was not part of their job; it needed to be removed by a remediation company. This discovery led to further concerns.

Living and Working Amid Fleas and Wildlife

Chirinos emphasized the severity of the situation. "She is definitely 100% right. The conditions of this property are extremely unsafe. All the units were infested with fleas, and all our workers got bitten by them. There was no pest control in place. The amount of raccoons and cats in this property is significant. There are images of the raccoons. When our window guys were installing windows, the raccoons were on the ceiling and roof."Deven Clarke himself witnessed several raccoons while filming the story. Chirinos further stated that they needed to provide a safe working environment in the units, but this was lacking. Additionally, there was no electricity in the units, making it difficult for the workers to carry out their tasks.

Dealing with Squatters and Contract Termination

Chirinos revealed that there were squatters inside the units. They even got chased out by a man with a machete. The Houston Police Department came and took the man away but later released him. After requesting better conditions, Silgo Construction was terminated from the contract."Because we complained to HHA and Franklin Development, we were told that we would be charged with liquidated damages. We were essentially told to keep quiet. Probably a few hours after that incident, we received an email asking us to leave the property. We still have not been paid, and no one has reached out to us to get paid," Chirinos said.

Subcontractor's Allegation of Owed Millions

When asked how much money Franklin Construction owes, Chirinos replied, "It's in the millions." The Houston Housing Authority has promised KPRC2 a statement soon. We were able to get in touch with Franklin Construction, but they refused to give comments to the media and hung up on Clarke.