Saturday, April 5, 2014 • Page 1B
Business Briefs
Renovation set for 43rd & Ella center By Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com
Houston commercial developer Blake Tartt III, of New Regional Planning, graduated from Northwest Academy in 1980, when it was located at 4211 Watonga Blvd. Many of his best friends and favorite haunts are still in the area. That’s why he decided to purchase the shopping center at the corner of W. 43rd St. and Ella Blvd. from a NewYork based company last month. “I’ve always liked that area,” Tartt said. “I felt I was returning to my roots. It’s a very up and coming area in Houston, and the infrastructure is greatly improved. It
Artist rendering of proposed development. (Photo supplied)
has great proximity to downtown, the Galleria and easy access to both airports.” Construction on the property will begin within 60 days, and it will take 2-3
months to complete. The construction will consist of improving the parking surface, the roof and the facade/signage of the property. The current businesses in
the plaza, including a Liberty Tax and a Domino’s Pizza, are expected to stay, and three vacancies are expected to be filled. Due to the construction boom in Oak Forest, Tartt expects home improvement oriented businesses to fill the vacant stores. New Regional Planning, which is based in Greenway Plaza, plans to do more development in the Oak Forest/Garden Oaks area and is already exploring more properties there. “We’ll look to invest more money in that market,” Tartt said. “I’m a big believer in that part of Houston.”
Shannon Zierau at work. (Photo supplied)
Spotlight Shepherd Park Plaza’s Shannon Zierau has moved with her salon Blue Mambo to a new location at 4621 Montrose in The Chelsea Market. Zierau is running introductory specials for April and May for the Hot Oil Hair Treatments and Chakra Balancing. For appointments call 713-775-0307 or email szierau@yahoo.com. Houston Dance Works, 3500 E TC Jester Blvd, Ste G, has announced their summer schedule. They offer day time camps and evening classes. Summer classes begin June 16 and they have expanded their offerings to include a boys only hip hop and tap class combination class. Accelerated Dance is the program for students interested in studying dance intensely and participating in dance competitions. Auditions for 2014-2015 will be held May 31. The third annual recital themed “Dream It, Dance It!” will be held at 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., Saturday, June 7, at Cullen Performance Hall, University of Houston. For
Local jeweler celebrates its 34 years of business
more information, contact 713-956-4870 or visit www. houstondanceworks.com. Timbergrove’s Jennifer Diaz, who owns Porch Swing Desserts (801 Louisiana St., Ste. T-100), announces the arrival of their fresh strawberry pie which they only serve during spring and early summer. Come get your 4” mini pie every day through July 4 or order a 9” pie. Events The next Greater Heights Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Connection is 6:458:30 a.m. on April 10 at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow Hotel, 3000 North Loop W. Topic is Search Engine Optimization and the speaker is Beth Guide from SEO 11. Guests and nonmembers are welcome and can register online. Members $20 each, non-Members: $25 each. The Greater Heights Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event will be 5-7 p.m. on April 17 at Tommie Vaughn Ford. A fun way to wrap up your day and truly enjoy networking.
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Tuesday April 8, 2014 9:00AM & 5:30PM
Houghton’s Jewelers co-owner/co-founder Hazel Houghton and her son, co-owner Jay Houghton, and Jay’s girlfriend, Marijke Elenbaas, are celebrating the store’s 34th anniversary this month. (Photo by Michael Sudhalter)
By Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com
Houghton’s Jewelers, located at 5386 W. 34th St. in Oak Forest, celebrated its 34th anniversary on Tuesday (April Fool’s Day), but its success has been anything but a joke. Five days after Garden Oaks resident Hazel Houghton and her parents opened the store, Hazel’s son, Jay, was born. “I quite literally was raised in a jewelry store,” said Jay, a graduate of St. Ambrose and Scarborough, who now co-owns the
store with his mother. Jay has worked in the store since he was a high school student in the mid 1990s. “I’m kind of a rock hound,” Jay said. “I like gems. That’s my favorite aspect of it.” Both Hazel and her mother worked in the jewelry business for stores in the mall, including J.C. Penney. “It was a lot of stress working for commission,” Hazel said. They wanted to open a store of their own, and Hazel didn’t think about it lasting for 34 years back then.
Meet the teachers, tour the school and participate in a scavenger hunt
“I was only 30, so I didn’t really think about the future,” she said. Houghton’s specializes in custom jewelry, diamonds and watches. Jay has introduced gold and silver coins to the store’s inventory. Through the month of April, Houghton’s is doing a 34 percent off sale, on most items in the store, to honor their anniversary. With Jay and his girlfriend, Marijke Elenbaas, working at Houghton’s, the store has the potential to be in business for another 34 years.
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Veteran teachers to open new school PACE Prep Academy to open this summer By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
Parents looking for a quality program for their pre-school aged children now have one more option to consider. Hope Episcopal School, which due to a church board decision was going to close at the end of this year, is moving to Oaks Christian Church, 1216 Bethlehem St. Renamed PACE Preparatory Academy (PACE is an acronym for Premier Academic Childhood Education ) the school is not an outreach of the church like it was at Hope Episcopal. Instead, they are leasing space from Oaks Christian. The school will still be Christian based. For PACE Preparatory Academy director Terri Corbett, it was an incredible
and discovered a like-minded group. They also found that they had the classroom space the school required. “We could maintain that same feelHeights Office ing,” she said. “We’ll have the same 2222 North Durham teachers and the same curriculum.” Houston, TX 77008 They notified their current parents Preparatory Academy as well as those on the waitlist about 281.517.8760 the move. And they told Hope Episcoand welcome development. The closing pal as well. “It wasn’t negative,” Corof the school at Hope had been a disap- bett said. “They wished us well.” Scott Lester - Bank Office President Reverend Don Joseph at Oaks Chrispointment and staff didn’t want to stop Margaret Vandever - Senior Vice President what they were doing. tian Church said that the church is “more “After we announced that Hope was than excited” about the new school. Amy Ritter, Banking Officer/Lender “It’s one of those matches that was closing, one of our parents said that their Boy Scout troop met at Oaks Christian meant to be,” he said. “We had exactly and that there was some interest from what they needed and it was a great Business Loans Made Simple. them in having a school,” said Corbett. fit. We were praying for God to send us “We were a school in need of a church something like this.” PACE has begun open enrollment for and they were a church in need of a When Business Is On The Line this summer as well as next fall. If you ��������� �������� school.” Corbett, who has been the school di- are interested in PACE Prep, please conwww.allegiancebanktexas.com rector for six years, along with her team tact 713-957-3411. went to meet with Oaks Christian staff
PACE
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