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Some of the top stories from surrounding communities.
Memorial site ready for state hurricane ops
When hurricanes head toward the Texas Gulf Coast, the Spring Branch ISD goes into action.
That’s because they’re a key location for statewide emergency operations.
On a recent Friday night at Tully Stadium, hundreds of fans adorned in their school colors gathered to watch Stratford High School face MacArthur.
Afterward, the troops rolled in as Hurricane Gustav rolled toward the Gulf Coast.
The Texas Department of Public Safety activated the stadium and Don Coleman Coliseum, 1050 Dairy Ashford St., as a designated Texas Emergency Operations Staging Area.
It wasn’t deactivated until the following Monday at 6 p.m.
Working closely with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the State of Texas Operations Center, SBISD Police Chief Chuck Brawner was on site all weekend coordinating the emergency operations.
“All of the different groups really came together to work as a team,” he said.
Brawner said next time the staging area is called into operation, they’ll be ready.
“We learned from this,” he said. “I’ve got notes and we’ll be ready for the next event down the line.”
Brawner said everyone who helped during the Gustav drill was an asset to the operation.
“We had Texas military personnel in here helping us, and DPS troopers,” Brawner said.
Seventy-three troopers from the Texas DPS came from all around the state and were housed at Stratford High School. Military personnel came mostly from Dallas and Tyler.
“We were prepared to handle the redeployment of buses to help with the evacuation,” he said. “Fortunately we did not need them.”
By Saturday morning, the parking lots were filled with ambulances, supply trucks, charter buses and Texas military personnel, including National Guard, that might have been needed if the storm hit Houston and surrounding areas.
The resources were available to assist with mass evacuation, if necessary.
Almost 400 buses, Brawner said, came from all over the country.
“Motor coaches came from as far away as Pennsylvainia, Kentucky, Illinois and Utah,” Brawner said. “Florida sent us a lot, too.”
Brawner said that some of the drivers were only given two hours’ notice before they had to get on the road.
Several tanker trucks were also on site, ready to assist with evacuation.
The SBISD Police Department and several other district departments, including Child Nutrition Services, Athletics and Administration, assisted with the coordination of supplying meals and water to 300 emergency responders.
Tully Stadium has been a staging area for two years, designated by the Texas Deparment of Public Safety.
It was activated for Hurricane Dean last year, but never became operational. Last month it was activated for Edouard with 30 to 40 buses and a few ambulances, Brawner said.
Brawner said that of the times the facility has been activated, Gustav was the most significant.
Reported by Megan Cooper
mcooper@hcnonline.com
Neighborhood embraces new condo plans
Pigs flew over Hyde Park as residents and developers came together to promote Houston’s first green condominium.
There was a lot of concern when the sales sign for the land at 2410 Waugh Drive went down, developer Joey Romano said. But people didn’t have to fear the invasion of a huge high rise.
The silver LEED-certified Mirabeau B. condo building promises to be a “new type of sustainable residential building,” Romano said. Offering green features and only taking up about half the available land, the four-story brick and wood building was designed to blend with the aesthetics of the surrounding homes.
“It’s a building we’re sort of hoping will recede into the neighborhood,” he said.
In a January newsletter of the Hyde Park United Civic Association, the organization’s president, Kathy Schipper, wrote, “It promises to be an interesting and neighborhood-friendly addition.” The newsletter encouraged residents to recommend the condos to “anyone seeking unique and forward-thinking digs.”
Schipper was not available for more recent comment.
Romano said his group has been working with neighborhood representatives on plans for the development. They also will hold neighborhood events at the sales center.
“It’s a main corner in this neighborhood,” he said. “It’s something that can be an important piece of the history and moving forward for the neighborhood.”
Named after Mirabeau B. Lamar, who once owned the land around Hyde Park, the project will preserve the history of the area, Romano said.
“We’re really trying to sell the neighborhood,” he said. “It’s in the loop of Houston, there are great historic qualities.”
The condominium project intends to offer value and luxury with a conscience, its developer said.
More important than fitting a green standard, sustainability is about a sense of community and a quality of life, Romano said.
“Everything’s green now,” he said. “You sleep green, you eat green. It’s kind of like overkill. It’s more important how you do it in a meaningful way.”
Romano and his father, Joe Romano, created Harvest Moon Development Co., named after a Neil Young album. The company combines a father’s background in renewable energy with a son’s desire to create something unique and special to Houston, the younger Romano said.
Harvest Moon worked with Rhode Partners, an Austin architecture firm, to make the building energy-efficient and sustainable.
Romano said he will aim to sell six of the condos before breaking ground.
The 14 spacious units are larger than typical condos and feel more like houses than apartments, said Mark Oberholzer, senior designer at Rhode Partners. Units range in size from 1,300 square feet to 2,600 feet.
“A two-bedroom unit is as big as a Montrose bungalow,” he said.
But the units are more efficient than your average home.
Mirabeau B. will be a “hard-core sustainable green building,” Romano said. The building will be environmentally-friendly from the ground up.
“The building is passively designed to be efficient,” he said “A big focus in green building, that I think a lot of people don’t realize, is how much you can save on your energy bills by just smart design.”
Among the examples:
At least 10 percent of recycled materials will be used in construction and at least half of the building’s construction waste will be recycled.
Materials such as brick, concrete and wood will be obtained from regional sources.
A photovoltaic canopy that will cover one of the walkways will provide rain cover while generating energy from solar panels.
A high-efficiency central cooling and heating system also saves energy.
A vegetated green roof will provide insulation and prevent water runoff to help prevent flooding.
Building green means more expensive units, with projected prices ranging from $400,000 to $600,000 and almost $1 million the one penthouse, but the energy saved in use over time will pay off, Romano said.
“You’ll pay for it up front but you’ll get it paid back over time and your cost of living will be much less than in your typical building,” he said.
The condos use half as much land as they could, leaving room for “dedicated outdoor space,” Oberholzer said.
The outdoor design incorporates native landscaping and irrigation from collected rainwater. The development also will not get in the way of the five oak trees on the property.
“(Romano) is building much less than he could on that site to make sure the trees are preserved,” Oberholzer said.
The building was designed for the hot, humid Houston climate with the concept of “dog trots,” outdoor walkways, to bring breeze into the building, Romano said.
Balconies will overlook a common courtyard in the middle of the “L” shaped block of units. The semi-private garden will “facilitate a neighborly way of living,” Oberholzer said
“You’re always looking down into that garden area,” he said. “You enter the units from the common gathering space. It becomes the focus where residents might hang out together.”
The Mirabeau B. Sales Center, designed by Metalab, was to open Tuesday Sept. 2, offering a model for the sustainability of the condos.
“The thinking involved is how we want people to see Mirabeau B.,” Romano said.
Constructed out of repurposed shipping containers, the sales center demonstrates the concept of “upcycling, having things that improve as their life goes on rather than get reduced as they get moved on,” Romano said.
Solar panels on the roof can fold shut at night or during bad weather, said Andrew Vrana from Metalab.
“We would like to further develop this as a solution,” he said. “People could have one of these made and put in their backyard and supplement their energy with solar power.”
Reported by Kirsten Salyer
ksalyer@hcnonline.com
Memorial site ready for state hurricane ops
When hurricanes head toward the Texas Gulf Coast, the Spring Branch ISD goes into action.
That’s because they’re a key location for statewide emergency operations.
On a recent Friday night at Tully Stadium, hundreds of fans adorned in their school colors gathered to watch Stratford High School face MacArthur.
Afterward, the troops rolled in as Hurricane Gustav rolled toward the Gulf Coast.
The Texas Department of Public Safety activated the stadium and Don Coleman Coliseum, 1050 Dairy Ashford St., as a designated Texas Emergency Operations Staging Area.
It wasn’t deactivated until the following Monday at 6 p.m.
Working closely with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the State of Texas Operations Center, SBISD Police Chief Chuck Brawner was on site all weekend coordinating the emergency operations.
“All of the different groups really came together to work as a team,” he said.
Brawner said next time the staging area is called into operation, they’ll be ready.
“We learned from this,” he said. “I’ve got notes and we’ll be ready for the next event down the line.”
Brawner said everyone who helped during the Gustav drill was an asset to the operation.
“We had Texas military personnel in here helping us, and DPS troopers,” Brawner said.
Seventy-three troopers from the Texas DPS came from all around the state and were housed at Stratford High School. Military personnel came mostly from Dallas and Tyler.
“We were prepared to handle the redeployment of buses to help with the evacuation,” he said. “Fortunately we did not need them.”
By Saturday morning, the parking lots were filled with ambulances, supply trucks, charter buses and Texas military personnel, including National Guard, that might have been needed if the storm hit Houston and surrounding areas.
The resources were available to assist with mass evacuation, if necessary.
Almost 400 buses, Brawner said, came from all over the country.
“Motor coaches came from as far away as Pennsylvainia, Kentucky, Illinois and Utah,” Brawner said. “Florida sent us a lot, too.”
Brawner said that some of the drivers were only given two hours’ notice before they had to get on the road.
Several tanker trucks were also on site, ready to assist with evacuation.
The SBISD Police Department and several other district departments, including Child Nutrition Services, Athletics and Administration, assisted with the coordination of supplying meals and water to 300 emergency responders.
Tully Stadium has been a staging area for two years, designated by the Texas Deparment of Public Safety.
It was activated for Hurricane Dean last year, but never became operational. Last month it was activated for Edouard with 30 to 40 buses and a few ambulances, Brawner said.
Brawner said that of the times the facility has been activated, Gustav was the most significant.
Reported by Megan Cooper
mcooper@hcnonline.com
Neighborhood embraces new condo plans
Pigs flew over Hyde Park as residents and developers came together to promote Houston’s first green condominium.
There was a lot of concern when the sales sign for the land at 2410 Waugh Drive went down, developer Joey Romano said. But people didn’t have to fear the invasion of a huge high rise.
The silver LEED-certified Mirabeau B. condo building promises to be a “new type of sustainable residential building,” Romano said. Offering green features and only taking up about half the available land, the four-story brick and wood building was designed to blend with the aesthetics of the surrounding homes.
“It’s a building we’re sort of hoping will recede into the neighborhood,” he said.
In a January newsletter of the Hyde Park United Civic Association, the organization’s president, Kathy Schipper, wrote, “It promises to be an interesting and neighborhood-friendly addition.” The newsletter encouraged residents to recommend the condos to “anyone seeking unique and forward-thinking digs.”
Schipper was not available for more recent comment.
Romano said his group has been working with neighborhood representatives on plans for the development. They also will hold neighborhood events at the sales center.
“It’s a main corner in this neighborhood,” he said. “It’s something that can be an important piece of the history and moving forward for the neighborhood.”
Named after Mirabeau B. Lamar, who once owned the land around Hyde Park, the project will preserve the history of the area, Romano said.
“We’re really trying to sell the neighborhood,” he said. “It’s in the loop of Houston, there are great historic qualities.”
The condominium project intends to offer value and luxury with a conscience, its developer said.
More important than fitting a green standard, sustainability is about a sense of community and a quality of life, Romano said.
“Everything’s green now,” he said. “You sleep green, you eat green. It’s kind of like overkill. It’s more important how you do it in a meaningful way.”
Romano and his father, Joe Romano, created Harvest Moon Development Co., named after a Neil Young album. The company combines a father’s background in renewable energy with a son’s desire to create something unique and special to Houston, the younger Romano said.
Harvest Moon worked with Rhode Partners, an Austin architecture firm, to make the building energy-efficient and sustainable.
Romano said he will aim to sell six of the condos before breaking ground.
The 14 spacious units are larger than typical condos and feel more like houses than apartments, said Mark Oberholzer, senior designer at Rhode Partners. Units range in size from 1,300 square feet to 2,600 feet.
“A two-bedroom unit is as big as a Montrose bungalow,” he said.
But the units are more efficient than your average home.
Mirabeau B. will be a “hard-core sustainable green building,” Romano said. The building will be environmentally-friendly from the ground up.
“The building is passively designed to be efficient,” he said “A big focus in green building, that I think a lot of people don’t realize, is how much you can save on your energy bills by just smart design.”
Among the examples:
At least 10 percent of recycled materials will be used in construction and at least half of the building’s construction waste will be recycled.
Materials such as brick, concrete and wood will be obtained from regional sources.
A photovoltaic canopy that will cover one of the walkways will provide rain cover while generating energy from solar panels.
A high-efficiency central cooling and heating system also saves energy.
A vegetated green roof will provide insulation and prevent water runoff to help prevent flooding.
Building green means more expensive units, with projected prices ranging from $400,000 to $600,000 and almost $1 million the one penthouse, but the energy saved in use over time will pay off, Romano said.
“You’ll pay for it up front but you’ll get it paid back over time and your cost of living will be much less than in your typical building,” he said.
The condos use half as much land as they could, leaving room for “dedicated outdoor space,” Oberholzer said.
The outdoor design incorporates native landscaping and irrigation from collected rainwater. The development also will not get in the way of the five oak trees on the property.
“(Romano) is building much less than he could on that site to make sure the trees are preserved,” Oberholzer said.
The building was designed for the hot, humid Houston climate with the concept of “dog trots,” outdoor walkways, to bring breeze into the building, Romano said.
Balconies will overlook a common courtyard in the middle of the “L” shaped block of units. The semi-private garden will “facilitate a neighborly way of living,” Oberholzer said
“You’re always looking down into that garden area,” he said. “You enter the units from the common gathering space. It becomes the focus where residents might hang out together.”
The Mirabeau B. Sales Center, designed by Metalab, was to open Tuesday Sept. 2, offering a model for the sustainability of the condos.
“The thinking involved is how we want people to see Mirabeau B.,” Romano said.
Constructed out of repurposed shipping containers, the sales center demonstrates the concept of “upcycling, having things that improve as their life goes on rather than get reduced as they get moved on,” Romano said.
Solar panels on the roof can fold shut at night or during bad weather, said Andrew Vrana from Metalab.
“We would like to further develop this as a solution,” he said. “People could have one of these made and put in their backyard and supplement their energy with solar power.”
Reported by Kirsten Salyer
ksalyer@hcnonline.com
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