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SATURDAY | June 1, 2013 | Vol. 59 | No. 31 | www.theleadernews.com | @heightsleader
etails on evelopment
Yale St. apartments OK’d Houston’s Planning Commission last week approved Trammell Crow Residential’s replat application without variance for the site of its 360-unit Alexan Heights midrise luxury apartment at Yale and 6th streets, West Heights Coalition’s website reports. The replat for the 3.5-acre site included properties previously restricted to single family use but was recently revised with deed restrictions amendments. The deed restrictions involved single-family home initially within the block-filling complex’s proposed footprint Reworked plans for a – properties that the owners luxury apartment comdid not want to sell and that plex on Yale Street has TCR was able to design around. been approved. TCR’s earlier request for construction with a variance failed before the Houston Planning Commission. A half-dozen or so area residents spoke against the replat request at the May 23 hearing – and others had written and called relevant offices and attended numerous planning commission meetings, WHC sources said.
Studewood Place on track for dining, lofts
Studewood Place, the mixed use development with luxury lofts located at 1111 Studewood in the Heights, is moving forward for residential and business occupancy, according to David Littwitz of Chodrow Realty Advisors. Littwitz said one restaurant has signed a lease and another one is expected to sign shortly, and both should be open by November. The development offers 20 Ignore the sign. Residen2-bedroom, 2.5-bath residen- tial move-ins are expected tial units starting at $450,000. by July – restaurants They range from 1,793-2,010 possible in November. square feet and boast downtown skyline and Heights views. Two residential lofts have been sold, and Littwitz said “there’s no doubt in my mind” the remaining 18 units will sell out by the end of the the summer. Residents are expected to move in by July. “It looks fabulous,” Littwitz said. “It’ll be an asset to the neighborhood.”
Harolds sign down, not out
The landmark script signs of Harolds in the Heights were pulled off the building at 350 W. 19th St. Tuesday morning – but the disappearance is only temporary, the redeveloper of the building says. Dan Braun of Braun Enterprises told The Leader the signs will be down until the building is transformed into Torchys Tacos, the Heights General Store and one other, yet unconfirmed space, and are being safely pre- The iconic signs from Harolds will be put back up, served. That was part of the under- according to its current standing when Harold Wiesen- owner. (Tracy Dacus) thal, who passed away last May -- nearly to the day of the signs’ removal -- sold the property to Braun. Wiesenthal’s son, Michael, said he’s glad that the signs will be preserved. He said the one in front has been up since 1960, and the one facing Heights Boulevard has been there since 1980. “I think it’s great,” Michael said. “When Mr. Braun bought it, he said he wanted to make sure people knew what was on that corner for 61 years.”
Heights senior living ready to rise
Construction is launching this week on The Village of the Heights, a luxury living facility for seniors at the corner of Studewood and Algregg that is expected to open in late summer of 2014. The former supermarket Demolition wound up last on Studewood was torn week on the structure on the down, and this is a drawsite, which had served since the ing of the site plans. 1950s as a supermarket for the Heights, most recently a Fiesta Mart. Rachel Moore, speaking for the developers of the new facility, said construction should last about 16 months, with an eye toward an opening in late summer of 2014.
Victim whipped after robbery confrontation by Charlotte Aguilar charlotte@theleadernews.com An Oak Forest man was pistolwhipped in his front yard late May 22 as he fought off a would-be robber who fired a shot into the air as he fled, unsuccessful in his attempt. The 55-year-old victim told The Leader the following day that he had just returned to his home in the 1500 block of Wakefield about 11 p.m. after shopping at the Kroger on 43rd
Street and was unloading groceries in front of his home when he noticed a vehicle crawl through the nearby intersection with Piney Woods. “Thinking back, I’m sure he was just cruising slowly through intersections, looking up and down the streets, looking for victims,” the resident said. The older, boxy white station wagon with a roof rack — possibly a Volvo, he said – backed up and parked across the street, and a black man
in his 20s “with very smooth skin” jumped out brandishing a pistol and demanding the man’s wallet. The victim said the suspect was “built like an athlete.” Instead of giving in, the victim ran into his yard, throwing two bags of groceries at the suspect and hitting him in the head with a 12-pack of sodas. “I must have tossed it hard, like
see Victim • Page 5A
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Lodge to host family ‘homecoming’
EEK- o -Tourism
Oak Forest bat colony gets buzz by Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
As bat colonies go, the one under the Congress Street Bridge in Austin gets the big buzz. Houstonians also plug the large colony that has taken up residence at the Waugh Drive Bridge over Buffalo Bayou. But residents of Oak Forest and surrounding neighborhoods have their own group of winged mammals that are rapidly becoming a community attraction. Bill Mallin of Oak Forest, along with his 17-month old Rhodesian Ridgeback Karno Moose, runs or walks about 35-40 miles each week. One of his preferred paths is along the White Oak Bayou Hike and Bike Trail, which is where he first saw – and smelled – the colony under the Watonga Street Bridge at West T.C. Jester Boulevard. After mentioning the experience on Facebook, Mallin has become a tour guide of sorts, lead-
see Bats • Page 5A
SPJST Lodge 88, 1435 Beall St. in the Heights, will host a “homecoming” lunch with outdoor water activities and a polka dance starting at 11 a.m. June 2. A lunch consisting of grilled chicken and sausage, potato salad, pinto beans and cole slaw, will be served from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Members eat free, and visitors pay $7 for adults and $4 for children, and the Birthday Club Sisters will be selling homemade pastries. The SPJST Orchestra and choral group will perform from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and a barbecue pit and gift cards will be raffled off. Youngsters can enjoy outdoor entertainment and a water slide (for which they should bring bathing suits or a change of clothes). From 2-6 p.m., the Ennis Czech Boys band will play polkas and variety dance music. Admission to the dance is $10. For information, visit www. lodge88.org, the SPJST Lodge 88 Facebook page or call 713-869-5767.
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What Aleida Klimko and father Adam, who participated in a recent walk from T.C. Jester Park to the Watonga Street Bridge can’t take their eyes off the stream of bats which have taken up residence under the bridge. (Photo by Betsy Denson) At top, bats hide in the expansion joints of the more noted bat colony under the Waugh Street Bridge. (© Dale Martin/Houston Zoo.)
Retirement (b)looming for OFES veteran by Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com The end of the school year at Oak Forest Elementary also marks the beginning of a new chapter for Magnet Coordinator Jacquelyn Maida. After 34 years at the school — and 40 years in childhood education — Maida is retiring. “It was a hard decision,” she said, “but I decided it was time.” Maida grew up in Abbeville, La. and attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, before Jacquelyn Maida starting her career as a firstgrade teacher in Lafayette. Wanting a change, Maida moved to Houston where she worked at Lakewood Elementary in the North Forest Independent School District for a few years. She knew someone at Oak Forest Elementary and next applied for a teaching position there. That decision would lead to her spending the next 34
years at the school, first as a teacher for first grade and later for third-, fourth- and fifth-graders. In 1997, the original magnet coordinator retired, and Maida moved into a new role at the school. Although she missed the classroom, Maida says she enjoyed getting to follow students from kindergarten through fifth-grade. “I love seeing the children progress,” she said. As overseer of the school’s Vanguard (or Gifted and Talented) program, Maida was tasked not just with the admissions process for children classified as G&T, but also with the quality of their elementary school education once they arrived. To do this, she regularly visited classrooms and also ensured that teachers were getting the right training. She also handled transfers, budget, field trips, transportation, and “other duties as assigned.” Although she is not officially classified as an administrator, Maida is third in command after the principal and assistant principal. “Some days I come in with a plan, and don’t even touch it,” said Maida. Principal Jenny Thomas says that Maida’s value to the school cannot be underestimated. “When I first came on board, I saw the trust and the relationships that Jackie
see Maida • Page 5A
Can U O YFind Inside
JOIN HOUSTON DANCE WORKS as it presents its second annual dance recital “Road Trip!” 2 p.m. Saturday, June 8 at Johnston Middle School, 10410 Manhattan Dr. 77096. Free admission. ANTIQUES BY NANCY: Painted furniture, yours or ours. 832-2828108, www.antiquesbynancy.com. BRAVENEC ELECTRIC for all your electrical needs. 713-864-4168, 713-864-2791.
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