Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland open 31 homes for unhoused Houstonians beside their childhood church

Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland went home to Houston this week to open the Knowles-Rowland House, a 31-unit building of permanent supportive housing for people who have lived through chronic homelessness. Tina Knowles joined them Tuesday for the ribbon cutting at St. John's Downtown, the Midtown church where Beyoncé was baptized.

Her daughters Blue Ivy and Rumi, ages 14 and 9, joined her onstage and helped snip the ribbon.

Rebuilt after a fire

The three-story building at 2019 Crawford St. stands where the Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth opened in 1999 with support from the two stars and their families. Over the years it hosted summer camps, served seniors and sheltered people overnight until a fire shut it down in March 2021. Rebuilding began in 2023.

The nonprofit Bread of Life, which developed the project, says the finished building cost about $13.96 million. Sixteen apartments are designed for residents with mobility or sensory needs and every unit is covered by federal housing vouchers.

More than a roof

A community development partner will offer on-site case management, mental health counseling, addiction treatment, rides and fresh food. The first residents are set to move in Nov. 1.

Beyoncé thanked pastors Rudy and Juanita Rasmus for years of prayer and said the church was her foundation. She told the crowd she chose to be baptized there on her own because she felt the spirit in that room. Tina Knowles called the day a full-circle moment and said the congregation taught her daughters to serve others.

The singer's giving in her hometown stretches back years, from relief after Hurricane Harvey in 2017 to free testing and meals during the pandemic.