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LEADER LISTING The Leader • Saturday, April 25, 2020 • Page 1B
Community grapples with affordable housing plan By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
Bobby Speer knows he’s fighting an uphill battle. He also knows that no matter what he says or does, he might be forced to live across the street from a three-story apartment complex within the next couple years. The Heights-area resident is still determined to thwart the Dian Street Villas, an affordable housing project on a 2.05-acre property at the southwest corner of Dian Street and 15th Street, using just about any means necessary. “It doesn’t bother me to go down swinging,” Speer said. “I’m not going to roll over.” Speer is not alone in his fight against the Dian Street Villas, a proposed mixed-income development by Houston-based nonprofit Texas Inter-Faith Housing. It is under contract to purchase the property at 1433 Dian St. and plans to construct a 108-unit complex, with 96 of those units designated for low-income renters, and is seeking federal funding to help pay for the project. Several nearby residents oppose the plan and have placed signs in their front yards that indicate as much. Speer has helped to organize the effort, having creating the website stopdianstreetvillas.com and started an online petition that had more than 200 signatures as of Wednesday morning. At this point, however, the effort might be futile. The project is in good position to receive a 9 percent federal housing tax credit allocated by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), having already received letters of support from the Houston City Council and Texas Rep. Anna Eastman. The city council voted in February to support a total of 20 affordable housing projects within Houston, including a 180-unit complex called The Ella that is proposed for 1718 W. 26th St. There is a competitive scoring process that will determine how many of those projects will receive the tax credits, with the TDHCA planning to make those allocations in July. Last year, the TDHCA awarded the annual tax credits, worth about $1.5 million per year over a 10-year period, to nine projects
Several residents near a proposed affordable housing project at 1433 Dian St. have put up yard signs illustrating their opposition.
within the Houston region. Eastman, a Heights resident who was elected to the District 148 seat of the Texas House of Representatives in late January, said she wrote letters of support for both local projects in late February. Based on the TDHCA’s scoring process, her support is critical to the developers seeking the tax credits. “Affordable housing is a realy big issue,” Eastman said. “District 148 is going through rapid and fairly aggressive gentrification, both resulting in people having to sell their homes because they can’t afford their taxes and making it impossible for teachers or art-
ists or other people that have solid middleclass jobs. It makes it impossible for them to move in to the neighborhood.” Speer and another nearby resident who opposes the Dian Street Villas, Kevin Strickland, both said they are not opposed to affordable housing. They said their problem with the plan is that it would increase traffic and the risk of flooding in the area and put a strain on infrastructure in an already dense neighborhood. Even more problematic, they say, is that they received no notification about the project and have not been asked for their input
Contributed photo
by either the developer, Eastman or District C council member Abbie Kamin, who was elected in December and voted to support the projects in February. Kamin said in an emailed statement that she is facilitating communication between the developer and the neighborhood associations for nearby Clark Pines and Shady Acres. Russ Michaels, the executive director for Texas Inter-Faith Housing, has recently been in contact with Clark Pines Civic Association President David Charvoz and said they’re in See Dian P. 4B
Revive’s bingo game aims to boost area businesses ucts directly from her instead of online, and she’s personally delivering what she sells. Her estheticians who are conducting the virtual consultations can receive commission from products they sell as well as gratuity. Every little bit helps until
By Adam Zuvanich azuvanich@theleadernews.com
Not touching your face is a good way to avoid contracting COVID-19. But the public-health guideline is bad for businesses such as Skoah Facial Shop, which needs to touch faces in order to be viable. Owner Lauri Stufflebeme said the social distancing restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have been devastating to her Oak Forest facial spa, which opened less than a year ago and had been building momentum in terms of its customer base. Skoah has been closed for more than a month as Houston and Harris County remain under a stay-at-home, work safe order, which allows only essential businesses to operate and requires all citizens who are not part of the same household to maintain at least 6 feet of separation from each other. “It’s just been awful,” Stufflebeme said. Fortunately for Skoah and several other businesses in the Heights, Garden Oaks and Oak Forest areas, their landlord has come up with a creative way to drum up business – even for its tenants that are temporarily closed. Revive Development, a commercial real estate firm based in the area, unveiled a communitywide, interactive game called “Revive Bingo” last week. Twenty-four of the 26 tenants in Revive’s portfolio represent squares on a bingo card, which includes a free space in the middle and can otherwise be filled by making a purchase or booking a future service with the business. The first 10 people to complete a five-square row will win a $250 prize package that includes gift certificates, products and services at the businesses, the first person to patronize all 24 businesses will receive a prize package worth more than $1,000. Fourteen of the Revive tenants are restaurants, which are allowed to operate with drive-through, carryout or delivery services. Eight of the businesses – two boutiques, two fitness centers, two hair salons, Skoah and a surf shop called Surfhouse – have been closed since at least March 24. “We have focused 100 percent on helping our tenants,” said Monica Danna, Revive’s
Skoah can go back to providing facials at its spa on 34th Street. The same goes for bingo-inspired purchases. “I’m waiting for folks to need that square,” Stufflebeme said. “I’m ready to serve them when they do.”
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Contributed photo Skoah Facial Shop owner Lauri Stufflebeme, shown with her husband, Mike, temporarily closed on March 20 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her landlord, Revive Development, is trying to help.
director of leasing and marketing. “Every single one of our 26 tenants are affected by it.” Danna said service-based businesses such as Skoah, Brush & Bobby salon and Re/ forme lagree fitness have been most significantly impacted by the pandemic. Some of the restaurants, meanwhile, have fared a little better since they’ve been able to remain open. One example, Danna said, is Mico’s Hot Chicken in the Heights. The business was a popular food truck in the process of transitioning to a brick-and-mortar restaurant, so it already had been successful with a to-go model. BB’s Tex-Orleans co-owner Maricela Bassler, who has a White Oak Drive location in the Heights and is a Revive tenant at 1737 W. 34th Ste. Suite 500, said their sales have declined by only about 10-15 percent. BB’s specializes in crawfish and Hurricane cocktails and has promoted takeout specials for families, which have resonated with customers, according to Bassler. Even though the business is doing fairly well, BB’s remains appreciative of Revive’s initiative. Danna, the cousin of Revive founder Bryan Danna, said the company’s eightperson staff came up with the idea while brainstorming about how they could help their tenants. “We have 10 locations,” Bassler said. “I can tell you right now that not all landlords are supporting their ten-
ants like Monica and Bryan are.” Monica Danna said there were three bingo winners during the first week of the promotion, which is set to last through May. She said it made sense to group the businesses together, since they all are located within a few miles of each other. And while trying to spark an uptick in immediate sales for their tenants, which in turn will help them pay rent to Revive, the bingo game also fig-
ures to create future business for those companies since their services are part of the prize packages. “It’s really kind of a win-win for our tenants,” Danna said. As of Tuesday, Stufflebeme said Skoah had yet to make a bingo-related sale. Even though its shop is closed, Skoah is doing free virtual consultations and selling its proprietary skin-care products. Stufflebeme said she her franchise benefits more by customers buying Skoah prod-
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localpoke.co
micoshotchicken.com
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skoah.com/houston
kasushi.com
721 W 19th
squabletime.com
fatcatcreamery.com
threadfare.com
reformelagree.com
handohtx.com
ritualhouston.com
FREE SPACE
brushandbobby.com
sharkeyscutsforkids.com
1737 W 34th
eatlola.com
1737 W 34th
brancheallday.com
1102 Yale Street
cantinabarba.com
1737 W 34th
hugsanddonuts.com
bicyclespeedshop.co
721 W 19th
REVIVE BINGO!
Help support our REVIVE businesSes in the Heights, Oak Forest and Garden Oaks: Make a purchase, take-out order, online product, book a service; email receipt and bingo card to marketing@reviveco.com; first 10 winners to complete one row of bingo win a prize package worth $250. first winner to complete a blackout wins a prize package worth over $1000. valid thru 5/31/20.
Contributed graphic The Revive Bingo card includes squares for 24 area businesses.