mrfootball

The school feeder pattern in my neighborhood (Longwood) had the following ratings: Hamilton Elementary - Exemplary Hamilton Middle - Exemplary Cy-Fair HS - Recognized

Cy-Fair is one again, the largest Recognized school district in the State. Cypress-Fairbanks may be winning praise for students' high test scores, but they're getting an "unacceptable" for secret-keeping ability. District leaders spilled the beans Thursday that Cy-Fair has reclaimed a "recognized" rating, the second-highest label issued by the Texas Education Agency. Ratings for the rest of the state will be released at 1 p.m. today. "We couldn't keep good news like this quiet," Cy-Fair spokeswoman Kelli Durham said. Cy-Fair will likely be the largest school district in Texas with a "recognized" rating. Only Houston and Dallas are bigger and neither is expected to crack that category. District officials also revealed that 49 of the district's 70 campuses earned "exemplary" or "recognized" ratings, an increase from 36 in 2007. "Teachers, staff members and parents have worked tirelessly so that our students' success rate increased each year in an environment of rising academic standards and state mandates," said David Anthony, superintendent of the 98,000-student district. The Texas Education Agency made ratings available to districts Thursday via a secured state Web site, so administrators could review the data and alert the state of any mistakes, officials said. "They should have waited," TEA spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said, warning that rating won't be official until 1 p.m. In past years, last-minute fixes have changed data moments before the release, she said. "It's highly unlikely, but one year there was a glitch in the calculation and some ratings changed," Culbertson said. Cy-Fair officials said they're confident in their good news and didn't want to keep families waiting. "We share news with our public as soon as we receive it," Durham said. HISD's Terry Abbott declined to offer a sneak peek at his district's rating: "Not till (today) at 1 p.m.!" he said in an e-mail. He did, however, offer this hint in a press release: "HISD will announce Friday a record number of Houston schools have earned the state's highest academic ratings." Other highlights, Abbott said, will include the first recognized rating for a comprehensive high school in HISD.

Agreed, it would've been a good fit and a huge success for them as well as another nice asset to the area. So back to the question. Who's going in there now?

That's the absurdity of it all.

Looks like they're making room for some large developments across the street as well in that area of the Vintage development close to the lake and proposed park.

I loved SRO's in Champions. I hope they open up again. Whether its at the same location or in a new place.

Wow, is that across from the BJ Services corporate campus?

What? No Starbucks???

I like the fact they've signed some original sounding tenants and names that I've not heard of in Houston. Of course Mission Burrito is a familiar name and I heartily welcome its arrival.

It's a good time for a REVOLT!

Conversely, if it weren't for the Suburbs like Klein, Spring, Cypress, Katy, Sugar Land, etc. Houston wouldn't be as attractive a location for Fortune 500 companies and the like. The good quality of life and low cost of living that the burbs offers is a big draw for these companies and their employees. The argument about Dallas getting hemmed in is idiotic. You idiots think a bloated, cookie cutter City Government is the answer? Dallas/FW/Metroplex has flourished and is a larger MSA than Houston. Regionally, it has done just as well if not better at attracting Fortune 500 corporations, etc. I think the Metroplex works better than Houston because of the various municipalities that compete with one another and offer differing solutions and ideas that reflect the values and concerns of their citizens. I'd like to see every one of the major suburbs incorporate themselves.

Excellent. Nice to see some motion on the issue.

Funny thing is, its pretty much this way all over Houston, save for a couple of large master-planned communities. Once you go outside these communities...same issue.

I agree. There are many parts of 1960 that are booming. NW Harris County is booming. If you'd like to get an idea how NW Harris County neighborhoods compare to other burbs, here's one of the best sites I've found: http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/

Perhaps you don't remember the Hot Tub party place in front of the neighborhood in the 1980's? I recall my neighbor who was on the HOA at the time, putting together a campaign to put them out of business. They couldn't. Simply put, there's no zoning and nobody to complain to out here. NOBODY IS ACCOUNTABLE or at least nobody knows who is accountable. The area has become too large for the county to handle with its limited ordinance making ability and Houston's been pretty happy with the status quo extracting sales tax dollars from its Limited Purpose Annexation. Add to that the abundance of Section 8 and tax-credit apartments enabled by County/State/Federal authorities that saw an area of opportunity, with great schools, cheap land and no zoning...voila! Your government quietly came in and screwed it up for everyone. End the subsidies and half the problem goes away once they move on to easier pickings. Create a TIRZ and/or incorporation and you're on the road to recovery. Neighborhoods like Ponderosa and Greenwood are still very nice looking neighborhoods. Many of the original residents still live there. I was looking at those great photos of Yorkshire on the other board and couldn't help but think how much it looks like the above neighborhoods. My parents moved out here in the early 1970's. At the time, they were torn between Wilchester and Greenwood Forest. They were both at a similar price range back in the 70's and 80's. Similar looking homes, similar demographic. Its sad to see them having a difficult time with the decline in schools. Nonetheless, something needs to change over there and I hope this article wakes people up all over unincorporated Houston.

We know, 1960 is ugly and overdeveloped. They didn't really choose to delineate which parts of 1960 were actually in decline. Of course we know it to be the area b/w Stuebner and I-45...not the biggest stretch of land in the world, but certainly noted that it used to be nice and now its not so nice. I wouldn't go so far as to say that its worse than some parts of Westheimer.

Again, hugely underserved market in this area stretching from 1960 up to 2920...from 290 to Kuykendahl. Great demos and very little substantial competition in that segment. The solution would be to do what was done in the Woodlands by offering incentives to big-name anchors which got the ball rolling on everything else. The leasing/marketing team is either wholly incompetent (knowing nothing about this market) or they're distracted. It's a beautiful center and people are anxious to see some good retailers in there.

Actually, it's a very nice center that most people are anxious to see filled up. I'd rather see centers like this (filled up of course) than endless miles of strip centers that you see all over Houston. If you've seen it in person, its hard to believe the owners haven't fired the leasing agents for incompetance. Beautiful center, large market with great demographics anxious to see this place open for business. Do what the Woodlands did and sign up a few big name anchors as loss leaders, the rest will follow.

I'd like to try it out this weekend.

Not sure, but Rock Creek's HOA needs to buy up that Spring-Cypress frontage near the entrance of "Rock Creek Trails" before that becomes a stinkin' Qwik-E Mart or Valero. Surprised Caldwell would've left that entrance open for commercial development like that as that's the only entrance to the neighborhood on a high visibility street (Spring Cypress). Nothing worse than having some greasy gas station marking the entrance of your high-end custom home neighborhood.

Ahh yes. We used to go to the one on FM 1960 in the Target shopping center near Greenwood Forest.

As a rule, I'd never allow my kids to play in those cootie-ridden mall playgrounds.

Thanks for your reply, Fred. We're glad to have more locally owned dining options in Cypress. I like how you guys made an effort to incorporate those big beautiful trees into your restaurant's landscape as opposed to mowing them down like other developers have done. I think it adds the kind of character that is appreciated by the community. I'm looking forward to trying your place out.

Raveneaux deal might be 'win-win situation' Water district plans to purchase 262 acres from golf course owner By KIM JACKSON Chronicle Correspondent Local water district officials said they will sit down with the owner of the Raveneaux Country Club property this week to discuss a deal that could include the district purchasing the bulk of that property between Cypress Creek and Cypresswood Drive. If the Cypress Forest PUD and property owner JP Realty Partners come to an agreement, the board would probably hold a special meeting to discuss the district's next steps, which could include a park bond election. "We are getting close," said Tom Petrek, Cypress Forest Public Utility District president. The Cypress Forest Public Utility District board met twice in executive session in the past two weeks to talk about a counter-proposal developer JP Realty Partners made in response to the district's original offer to buy the Raveneaux property in mid-May. Cypress Forest board members would not discuss details of the developer's counter-proposal, but said they would stand firm on several points outlined in the original proposal. They sent a response to JP Realty on June 4, and the terms outlined in that response proposal which were made public and posted on the district's Web site were almost identical to the original proposal. According to that original proposal, Cypress Forest would buy 262 of JP Realty's 288 acres for $5.5 million and lease it back to the developer for use as a golf course. If at any point during the 99-year lease period JP Realty ceases to operate the golf course for more than a year, the land reverts back to Cypress Forest for use as a public park and recreational area. The water district would also be granted a 40-foot-wide strip of land fronting Cypresswood Drive from the property line near the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints temple near Champion Forest Drive to the bridge over Cypress Creek near Cutten Road which would be developed as a landscaped trail. According to the agreement, JP Realty could develop the remaining 26 acres at the southwest corner of Cypresswood and Champions Drive, but would be limited to building high-end condominiums, high-rise or mid-rise buildings, and three- or four-story townhouses; to reconstructing the existing Raveneaux clubhouse; and to building no more than 20,000-square-feet of commercial retail space to serve the residential units, hotel and spa facilities. There is a no-apartment clause, and all residential units would have to be at least 1,500 square feet unless Cypress Forest approves a smaller unit size. One change made to the original agreement involved neighboring Kleinwood Municipal Utility District. Both versions require that the entire Raveneaux property be annexed into, and provided water and sewer services, through Cypress Forest PUD. Currently, JP Realty has a pending agreement with Kleinwood Municipal Utility District, which, if signed, would annex all but 7 acres of the Raveneaux property into Kleinwood MUD, which is located east of the Cypress Forest PUD boundaries. In the latest version of the agreement, Cypress Forest PUD added the phrase, "JP Realty agrees to indemnify CFPUD from any claims by Kleinwood MUD against CFPUD." Steve Williams, Kleinwood MUD president, said Kleinwood officials would not comment on the terms of the Cypress Forest PUD proposal. The water district that ends up with the annexation deal would end up with all revenues generated through annual property taxes and water and sewer charges collected from the Raveneaux development. If JP Realty Partners agrees to the terms, Cypress Forest PUD would go to voters for approval of the "park plan" in a November 2008 election. The district could also ask voters for approval on a park bond referendum. If the bond election fails, or Cypress Forest PUD cannot provide another source of funding for the land deal by the end of December 2009, then the water district must honor the agreement to provide water and sewer services to the development, and JP Realty would be able to develop an additional 15 acres at the southeast corner of Cypresswood and Champions Drive, bringing the total developed area to 41 acres. That additional development would be limited to three- or four-story townhomes, and the 40-foot landscape buffer on Cypresswood Drive would remain. Some residents who have been lobbying for more than a year against JP Realty Partners' development plans because of concerns about the development's possible negative effect on traffic, flooding, property values and existing greenspace, applauded Cypress Forest PUD's proposal. "I think it is great it is a win-win situation for everyone," said Narda Martin, a member of the "Concerned Raveneaux Neighbors" group. "It would be wonderful if the community passed a bond. "We could build trails and preserve greenspace that would keep our community in competition with a lot of the newer developments going in. "I hope they get this deal worked out. I applaud our board for sticking to their guns and doing what is best for our community. They will prevail." Cypress Forest PUD provides water and sewer services to residents in the Champion Forest, Estates at Windrush, Champions Cove, Stonegate Court, Woods of Cypress Creek and Sterling Gate subdivisions. The PUD also serves part of the Raveneaux County Club property, Timber Top High Rise, and some commercial areas along Louetta, Cypresswood and Champion Forest roadways.

I love Ron Paul and I love freedom, Buc-ees I'm okay with but a bit indifferent as I'll probably go to the one in Luling more than I will the one here.