Inside Today: Ice cream bandits strike for third time at Baskin Robbins • Page 2A
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SATURDAY | August 10, 2013 | Vol. 59 | No. 41 | www.theleadernews.com | @heightsleader
Yale apts bring new controversies
THE BRIEF. sponsored by
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Foster YMCA looking for new chief
by Cynthia Lescalleet For The Leader With a new five-story apartment building proposed for Yale Street, the future use of a small section of Allston Street south of 6th Street has an apartment developer and the nearby community at odds over connectivity. The structure could go even higher, the developer says, if it doesn’t get what it’s seeking. At issue is whether a street segment, currently a dead end, should be abandoned by the city so two parcels slated for redevelopment as a mid-rise apartment complex can
Landrum Turner, executive director of the Harriet and Joe Foster Family YMCA, has moved on after four years, taking the top spot at the South Montgomery County YMCA in The Woodlands. Turner said in an email announcement this week that he’ll be at the new job by the end of August. Turner served as head of the YMCA location in Garden Oaks for four years, but said the opportunity to move to the South Montgomery County YMCA was something he and his wife could not pass up. The Foster Y is seeking his replacement, and Turner said he’d stay involved until the transition to new leadership is complete.
This aerial map of the Alexan 2 apartments shows the area where Trammell Crow Residential has asked for a portion of Allston Street to be abandoned.
Allston dead-ends here Allston St. Portion of Allston to be abandonded
ON PAGE 5A: Despite some public displeasure, Woodland Heights condos nearly half sold. become a contiguous tract or whether the segment should remain open to the street grid despite its dead end 110 feet north of
5th Street. Trammell Crow Residential applied last month to the Public Works and Engineering
Linen in Again
department for the city to abandon about 290 feet of Allston. The affected stretch of roadway is straddled by the 4.9-acre Fixtures International property that’s currently under contract for TCR’s future Alexan Yale project. The proposed contiguous tract would stretch between Yale and Rutland off 5th Street, with a narrow portion extending north along Yale to 6th Street. (In aerial photos, the site looks like a lowercase “d.”) TCR plans, which came to light last week, include a five-story apartment building sur-
see Yale • Page 5A
Owner says he’ll rebuild historic home by Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com Lee Castillo, the owner of the historic Hawkins Home at 1015 Heights Blvd., said many people have urged him to sell the house, which was damaged in a July 18 electrical fire. “If someone offered me the right price, of course I’d sell it,” Castillo said. “I have no choice but to fix it. It’s not something you can fix overnight. It’ll cost (around) $60,000.” Immediately after the fire, the Houston chapter of the American Red Cross assisted the house’s tenants in finding new places to live. Some of them went to stay with family or friends. But the city didn’t immediately shut down four rooms just behind the house, that Castillo rented out, without lease agreements, which
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see Historic • Page 5A
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GO VOTE! This is a picture of The Leader’s website. The address, in case you’re new to the internet or haven’t logged on, is www.theleadernews.com. Right now, we’re in the midst of finding the best businesses in our area in a month-long contest called Readers’ Choice. If you log on to our site and click the Readers’ Choice button (see the arrow above), you can vote for your favorite businesses – from restaurants to car shops and everything in between. There’s no charge for it, you can vote once a day, and the only thing that can happen is that your favorite business can be named one of the Top 3 in the area when we publish the results on Sept. 28. If you only use paper, we’ll publish another ballot next week, or you can drop by our office and get one.
For more on White Linen Night, see Page 7A
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With crowds not having to go through an admissions turnstile and spread through several blocks of venues, it’s impossible to get a head count on the annual White Linen Night festivities last Saturday. But the event, which honed in on more of an art and shopping focus this year, was deemed a success, both in attendance and atmosphere, where liquor and rowdiness were de-emphasized. Whether it was shopping at boutiques, dining, listening to music or enjoying beer or wine (largely provided gratis by local merchants), Houstonians flocked to the main venues along 19th Street and White Oak Drive. The event, in its eighth year, was founded by artists and Hurricane Katrina evacuees Kay and Chris Thayer, patterned after a popular New Orleans art crawl. Two years ago, huge crowds and abundant free liquor that caused misbehavior to spill into Heights neighborhoods appeared to threaten the continued existence of the event. By all accounts this year’s was a success – including the apparently happy mood seen in these photos by The Leader’s Michael Sudhalter.
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Sugarek introduces herself to Durham by Michael Sudhalter michael@theleadernews.com For Durham Elementary parents and students, meeting new principal Angela “Angie” Sugarek last Thursday night was worth the wait. The previous week’s meeting was canceled due to a nonfunctioning air conditioning system, but on Thursday, Sugarek and the community were excited to greet each other. “I like her,” said Durham computer science teacher Dr. Sue Wethington. “I think she has a real vision for the school. I think she’s listened to the concerns that have been vocally stated. She’s made
some changes on what teachers have asked for.” Teachers report on Aug. 12, and the students begin classes on Aug. 26. Last month, the Durham community collectively voiced its displeasure over the fact that the school’s had three principals in three years, along with what they believed to be the neglect of school facilities. They welcomed Houston ISD’s hiring of Sugarek, formerly the dean of instruction at McReynolds Middle School, and Durham PTO president Tonia Whitney said Sugarek’s reception has been “very positive.” Still, Sugarek understands the
community is looking for actions, not words. “Trust is built when expectations are met with actions,” she said. HISD board president Anna Eastman introduced Sugarek to the crowd of about 70 people. Dr. Francisco Penning, an HISD school support officer who will work with Sugarek this year, was also present at the meeting. “Coming from middle school, I have a very clear vision of where our kids need to be -- going into the sixth-grade,” Sugarek said. Student achievement and “working hard to give our kids the best
see Durham • Page 5A
Durham principal Angie Sugarek, left, speaks to Shepherd Park Plaza Civic Club board member Chuck Blesener at Thursday’s “Meet The Principal” event. (Photo by Michael Sudhalter)