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The office building located at 5177 Richmond Avenue has Chase signage, so it may also be called the Chase Building on Richmond. It has been there forever, maybe built in the 1980s? Unusual glass color for the facade. I wonder the occupancy rate? Will it (also) see a residential conversation? Photo I took this weekend. An unusual picture, but I tried to get the infamous Galleria overhead street signs in the picture as well. Richmond at Sage.

As we have moved through 3 years of discussion and planning a new building for Bellaire HS, I have committed to keep you as informed as possible. Among starts and stops, I have been proud of the manner in which our community has supported the Bellaire Project Advisory Team (PAT). Additionally, I have appreciated the commitment the Houston ISD has made to continue to search and explore all alternatives in the search for the best possible solution to a very challenging project - specifically - trying to rebuild Bellaire HS in our current 17 acre site while continuing to house and educate our 3500 student population. This was always going to take a large number of people working in concert and that has remained true. That being said, I am excited to share what is the most promising and exciting news so far about the Bellaire project. Monday afternoon the HISD Bond Department presented the new direction for Bellaire at the scheduled PAT Meeting. Based on the overall $136M budget for a new Bellaire HS, the recommendation is below: Spend majority of current project dollars to purchase the “Chevron Site” located at 4800 Fournace - which is at the northern tip of the City of Bellaire (approximately 30 acres) Commit funds to renovate elements of the current property at 5100 Maple so as to sustain the current facility as we wait for construction at the new site to begin. This decision would likely necessitate that Bellaire HS be added to a future bond of which a certain date is not known. However the district would have secured property that is appropriately sized for a large 6A High School. While this new direction brings great optimism to our project it does have some caveats. It will need HISD Board of Trustee Support. Successful negotiation with Chevron to purchase the property. City of Bellaire zoning changes that align with our educational need. This new plan is a recent development for our project and, once presented to the PAT, there were many questions asked. I am confident that the HISD Bond department will continue to work diligently to collect any requested information and appropriately present it at a future meeting. I am hopeful that you share my same sense of optimism and that you are excited about the opportunity to participate in helping us make this our reality. Our Board Trustee, Mike Lunceford, was in attendance for the meeting and he stated that this proposal could be shared with the Board of Trustees for consideration as soon as the next October meeting. While our work is not complete and the journey will be long, I am encouraged by the long term vision inherent in this new plan. I believe it has the best chance to work for our students, faculty, staff and community. I appreciate your continued support. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. enjoy the day, michael http://www.houstonisd.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=117408&ViewID=7B97F7ED-8E5E-4120-848F-A8B4987D588F&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=181919&PageID=81504