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Complete the Community: A Housing and Urban Design Competition
Houston City Council Member David W. Robinson announced a housing and urban design competition, sponsored by the City of Houston and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Houston.
"Affordable housing is a key part of Houston's resilience, and it's been a subject of great interest to the architecture and design community for decades," Council Member Robinson said.
The competition will solicit conceptual design entries in the five current Complete Communities' pilot neighborhoods: Acres Home, Near Northside, Second Ward, Third Ward and Gulfton. The competition addresses: 1) a design of a resilient single-family home in Acres Home, Near Northside, Second Ward and Third Ward, and 2) an urban design solution for a streetscape in Gulfton. The competition entry deadline is August 3, and the application can be found here.
This competition will serve as a precursor to a broader program, "Houston 2020 Visions," which will formally launch on August 25, 2018 - the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey. Houston 2020 Visions is a yearlong invitational design competition that will solicit national and international entries consisting of creative visions for rebuilding a more sustainable and resilient city.
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Community Highlights
Acres Home
Discovery College Job Opportunity: Acres Home, Lone Star College Victory Center will host a free 4-day STEM Camp for children ages 11-14. Lone Star College is looking for instructors, volunteers and teachers aids to work with the program. Contact Pat Chandler at 281-312-1749 or email at
[email protected]
for more information.
Neighborhood Clean Up: The Acres Home Action Team for Neighborhood Character, in collaboration with the Toshia Hurd Foundation, is spearheading a neighborhood clean up at Winzer (Carver) Park on June 30, 2018 from 8 am-Noon. For more information please contact Toshia Hurd via email at
[email protected]
or call 713-446-6184.
Acres Home Leadership Training Registration for Youth and Young Adults: The Y-ABC Project is a free program designed to empower young people between 18 - 30 years of age through training and experiential learning to become a voice for positive changes in the Acres Home community. The Houston Health Foundation is currently recruiting individuals ages 18-30 to discuss the development of the training curriculum for the civic leadership program. For more information or participation, please contact
[email protected].
Harris Health System: The Acres Home Community Health Center is participating in the Community Centered Health Homes Initiative. A Community Centered Health Home is a clinic that acknowledges that factors outside the clinic walls affect patient health outcomes and it actively participates in improving them. They are in the process of developing strategies to help improve community utilization of our Acres Homes Community Health Center walking trail and want your input. Click here to taked the survey.
Contact
[email protected]
if you have further questions.
Mayor Sylvester Turner's Annual Acres Homes Juneteenth Parade: Join Mayor Sylvester Turner at the Acres Homes Juneteenth Parade on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 10 am. The parade will begin at the Acres Homes Multi-Service Center located at 6719 W. Montgomery St., travel north on W. Montgomery St., then west on Dolly Wright St., and will conclude at Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church located at 1620 Dolly Wright St.
Bikeway Implementation: In April,
Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis initiated a city-county partnership to connect neighborhoods and destinations with high comfort bikeways and to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety. Commissioner Ellis has pledged $10 million from Harris County Precinct One funds to build short-term opportunities in one year. This is an opportunity to implement the Acres Home Action Plan and link residents to schools, transit centers and parks in their neighborhood.
The Acres Home Mobility Workshop was held June 14th at Mount Ararat Baptist Church. Discussions were positive and enthusiastic as participants mapped out major destinations in the community and prioritized routes for implementation this year. Feedback from this event and a refined route system will be presented during the June 21st Super Neighborhood 6 meeting from 6:30-8:00pm, to be held at the Acres Home Multiservice Center.
For more information about bikeway projects in Acres Home, please visit www.houstonbikeplan.org/infrastructure/.
Contact Information: The lead planners for Acres Home are Christa Stoneham and Arica Bailey. You can reach them at [email protected].
Neighborhood Support Team (NST): Gulfton's NST met on May 31, at which two main items were presented: Information about the Houston Bike Plan and the establishment of working groups for topics of interest in this community. To get involved, please contact the Planning and Development Department Gulfton Complete Communities at 832-393-6600 or
[email protected]
.
NST members discussed proposed bikeways on De Moss Dr., Rookin St., High Star Dr., and Westward St. Planning and Development staff and the Transportation Team talked about options to make these streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians, including dedicated on-street bicycle lanes and intersection treatments. NST members provided suggestions on how best to engage the broader Gulfton community, such as setting up visual aids of the proposed bikeways at major destinations like Baker Ripley, the Southwest Multi-Service Center, and ABC Dental. Next steps include crafting said visual aids and surveys so that community members can provide feedback on proposed bikeways in Gulfton.
Super Neighborhood Monthly Meeting: Gulfton Super Neighborhood Council monthly meeting is every 3rd Monday of the month, at the Southwest Multi-Service Center, 6400 High Star Dr., 77074, from 12 - 1 pm.
Contact Information: The lead planners for Gulfton are Tonya Sawyer and Abraham Zorilla. You can reach them at [email protected].
Neighborhood Support Team (NST):
The Near Northside Neighborhood Support Team met on May 31, 2018, to discuss implementation strategies for the Near Northside Action Plan. Although the implementation plan is still being developed, a key objective is wide resident participation. More information will be made available as details are hammered out. City staff will reach out soon to all community members who have already signed up for specific work groups.
Walkable Places Pilot Program:
The City's new Walkable Places program will provide the Near Northside community the opportunity to participate in a pilot area along the Hogan Street corridor. A 'Walkable Place' has unique standards for sidewalks, parking, building placement, and pedestrian amenities, created with the input of the community in which it is located. The first of several public meetings to discuss the proposed Hogan Street Walkable Place was held on June 11, and additional meeting times and locations will be announced soon. For more information, please contact John Cedillo at 832-393-6633,
[email protected]
.
Mobility Workshop: Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis recently initiated a city-county partnership to connect neighborhoods and destinations with high comfort bikeways and to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety. Commissioner Ellis has pledged $10 million from Harris County Precinct One funds to build short-term opportunities in one year. Funding is proposed to be started for implementation projects from the Near Northside Complete Communities Action Plan as part of the first round of improvements across Houston.
Also in June, a Near Northside Mobility Workshop will take place to discuss proposed bike lanes in the neighborhood. This public workshop will build on the goals already identified in the Houston Bike Plan and Near Northside Action Plan. Attendees will help prioritize proposed bike routes and provide input on bike path design along specific streets.
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| Transportation Planner Lauren Grove discussing mobility options |
This workshop is taking place on Wednesday, June 20 from 6 - 8 pm at Moody Park Community Center, 3725 Fulton St., Houston, TX 77009. All are invited! Attendees will have an opportunity to provide feedback on places you'd like to reach by foot or by bike; review proposed bicycle routes that you would like to see implemented in the next year, and learn about bikeway design options and discuss trade-offs. Please RSVP using Eventbrite.
Can't make the workshop? Please submit a comment form online or contact the Houston Bikeways Program at 832-395-2700 or
[email protected].
For additional information, you can also contact
Lauren Grove at
[email protected]
or 832-393-6550.
Contact Information: The lead planners for Near Northside are Diana Ducroz and Davonte Caldwell. You can reach them at [email protected].
Second Ward
Eastwood Park Beautification Phase II: Phase II of the Eastwood Park Beautification Project was on Saturday, May 19. A number of organizations and businesses within the community came together to help with planning, donations, and volunteering for this event.
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| Volunteers pose with a new flower bed at Eastwood Park |
Thank you to La Luz Del Mundo Church, Flemingo Food Mart, Silvia Mintz Attorney at Law, Refuge Development, Keep Houston Beautiful, Greater East End Management District, the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans, Air Alliance Houston, Buffalo Bayou Rowing Center and any other organizations that we may have missed.
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| Rep. Carol Alvarado and volunteers work at Eastwood Park |
The project was also supported by District H Council Member Karla Cisneros and Second Ward Super Neighborhood #63. Stop by Eastwood Park to see the new raised planter beds and flowers installed by the volunteers.
Incremental Development Alliance (IDA) Scholarship: Scholarships were made available for community members in the Complete Communities to participate in a Small Scale Real Estate Development Workshop on June 13th. We are pleased to announce that Estella Gonzalez and Elena Penso from Second Ward were awarded scholarships through the IDA. The IDA workshop will help educate residents on how to develop neighborhood based real estate projects in their neighborhood. For more information please visit the IDA website
.
Spanish Speaking Comments for Action Plan: We thank everyone in the community that has been providing comments on the draft action plan for Second Ward. This plan will be translated to allow for Spanish speakers to also more easily provide comments on the Second Ward Complete Communities website. Once it is translated, it will be posted on the Second Ward Complete Communities
website
.
Safe Streets Canal Street Project Update: The Safe Streets project on Canal Street near David G. Burnet Elementary School and Ninfa Laurenzo Early Childhood Education Center has recently moved forward with the construction of new curb extensions. The goal of the project is to improve safety through slower driving speeds and narrower crosswalks. The P&D staff is working closely with area residents in Second Ward on safety concerns on this project. Modified designs for this project will be discussed at the Oaklawn/Fullerton Civic Club meeting on June 18th.
Contact Information: The lead planners for Second Ward are Misty Staunton and David Welch. You can reach them at [email protected].
Third Ward
Workshop Houston: A $15,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is part of the agency's Art Works program. The money will help cover the cost of Workshop's free, innovative after-school and summer arts programs. The NEA's Art Works program supports programs that focus on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with art, lifelong learning in the arts and strengthening of communities through the arts. For more information contact Executive Director Jaime Herrero at 713-807-7911, or via
[email protected]
.
Walkable Places:
A pilot program is being initiated in Third Ward to encourage walkable development
. The turnout and input at the first public meeting held Saturday, June 9th was encouraging. Attendees commented on the recommended boundary for the Third Ward pilot Walkable Place and other items. The second public meeting is scheduled for Saturday, July 14, at the Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church. Visit the Walkable Places website for more information.
Bike Plan Implementation: The Third Ward Complete Communities Mobility Community Workshop held on Wednesday, June 6 was successful and lively. Attendees worked to develop a recommended list of bikeway routes for implementation. Updates on the community's proposed routes will be on the agenda at the June Super Neighborhood meeting, where the Mobility and Infrastructure workgroup will report their findings.
Team Up 2 Clean Up: A consortium of organizations are working together to host a neighborhood clean up event on June 30, 8 am - 2 pm, at Shape Community Center. Volunteers can choose to work on curb address painting, trash pick up, or pet rescue. Lunch will be provided. Volunteers can sign up on the Facebook event page.
Pop Up Bike Lane: Join the McGowen Pop Up Bike Lane & Columbia Tap Ride! Hosted by Emancipation Park Neighborhood News and BikeHouston, on Saturday, June 30, Noon - 2 pm, at 3201 McGowen St., 77004-2072.
Contact Information: The lead planners for Third Ward are Lynn Henson and Annette Mitchell. You can reach them at [email protected].
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Tips From the Toolbox
Home Builders Institute (HBI) Registration: The City of Houston is looking for young adults interested in becoming carpenters. The Office of Business Opportunity, in collaboration with the Home Builder's Institute (HBI) of the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), is launching a carpentry training program for youth in Houston. This fully-funded, full-time program will provide students with technical training, industry certifications, and job placement. Participants will learn how to construct and finish roofs, walls, windows, doors, stairs, and more. This carpentry course is open to individuals ages 18-24 who qualify. If you want to gain the skills needed to launch a successful career in the construction industry, please contact Joseph Jones at 281-253-4750 or
[email protected] to learn more.
Harvey Resource Connect: Avenue CDC and the Houston Health Department recently partnered to host Harvey Resource Connect, to address the unmet needs that exist nine months after Hurricane Harvey. The program offers Harvey-impacted Houstonians the opportunity to connect with valuable recovery resources including Avenue CDC's home repair program, Kids Meals for the summer, tips for avoiding foreclosures, and legal advice. Recovery resources are offered through Avenue CDC, Houston Food Bank, World Vision, SBP, Bread of Life, and Recovery Houston. For more details, contact Scott Packard at 832-393-5045 or Portfirio Villareal 832-393-5041 with the Houston Health Department. Also see the City's Housing and Community Development Department's
page for Harvey recovery options.
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