ST. AGNES DROPS SUIT St. Agnes Academy has officially ended its lawsuit meant to prevent a nightclub called El Corral — planned for the former Finger Furniture store in PlazAmericas — from receiving a liquor license. The suit was filed last Friday against the nightclub’s owners, the city of Houston, and the TABC. A spokesperson for the all-girls private school, which is building an athletic facility across Bellaire Blvd. from the former Sharpstown Mall, tells Swamplot “any future plans regarding the suit are to be determined,” but offered no further comments. [Previously on Swamplot]
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because no further comment is needed, you never had a hope of winning, now take your ball and go home…
If many of my high school drinking buddies were any indication, El Corral will have a built-in clientele there.
The school’s position was pretty tenuous anyway so not shocked that they bailed out on this. Were they really concerned that, when they were having one of their many late night friday or saturday instructional classes that students would wander across busy Bellaire Boulevard into a nightclub? Seriously?
I sure hope they come up with something else to stop this club.
When Carnivale was open, it was gunshots every night. These clubs are hotbeds of crime and do not belong in our neighborhood.
Perhaps if the clientele was a little less criminal, it wouldn’t be a big deal. I’ve got no issue with folks wanting to have some drinks and dance. What I take issue with is all of the esplanade work that was done being wrecked by drunk drivers, gun shots every night (and not even having the common courtesy of hitting each other) and the prostitution and drugs that go along with it.
The after-hours clubs are bad enough and really need to go away. Carnivale was a huge victory. Here is hoping for one against El Coral.
The Richmond corridor needs revitalization, go open the club there.
Too funny! I’m not sure what mindset would assume that the objection was based on the idea that students would wander into the nightclub. But I get the feeling that’s not the case.
After speaking to an employee of St. Agnes with whom I live, it seems that this story misrepresents the school. St. Agnes didn’t bring the lawsuit, the neighborhood association did. “St. Agnes Academy has officially ended its lawsuit” because they refused to be part of it.
These clubs are hotbeds of crime and do not belong in our neighborhood.”
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Where should places that are hotbeds of crime be located? In my opinion the club should be allowed to open. If it becomes a hotbed of crime, then that should be dealt with harshly.
To tcp IV: You are simply incorrect. The Plaintiff in the suit was “St. Agnes Academy” and nobody else. See Cause No. 2011-46282.
The neighborhood associations in the area are the Sharpstown Super Neighborhood Council (not involved) and Sharpstown Civic Association (not appearing on law suit). If the school didn’t want to be involved, then it’s a shame that they let themselves be used as a shill. You can’t file a lawsuit on behalf of somebody else.
@ Cody–
Yeah, let’s sic those nuns on them!
That’ll clean it up right quick……..
Before St. Agnes bought this parcel, someone was looking at it for retail (though, sadly, not a grocery store), anchored by a large night club/live music venue. The Civic Association, having just succeeded in getting rid of the Carnivale nightclub, let the potential buyer know they planned on fighting against any club there getting a liquor license and the buyer moved on.
@Cody:
Frankly…anywhere but here would work. But there are places more suited to a night club. That said, how about a place where the people who live near it aren’t still trying to improve the area and keep it from falling in to complete decline? There are areas that would welcome a club like that and could possibly even prosper because of it.
I am a capitalist, so it is hard for me to justify telling someone what they should and should not do in business. I am also a resident of a beautiful neighborhood that comes closer and closer to being Gulfton or Forum Park or Fondren Southwest or any of the other of the rapidly declining areas as establishments like these open. I love to see investment money come in. I wasn’t too thrilled about Plaz Americas, but it is better than the mall rotting away like it was. I’d rather see someone come in and IMPROVE things rather than contribute to the problem though.
The TIRZ funded esplanade improvements up and down Bellaire. Many of these improvements have been destroyed by the drunk driving clientele of these establishments. Not to mention the long brick wall down Fondren that has had more drunks drive through it than a Mickey D’s on free burger day (an expense that the resident on the other side of the wall generally has to fight to keep from having to pay for). Let’s not forget the gun shots (seriously, if you’re going to pull guns out and shoot at each other, at least do us all a favor and hit each other to thin the herd a bit).
Any situation where you have a few hundred drunk people going out to their cars and then driving through residential areas, major intersections and getting on the freeway is a bad thing too.
I just love my beautiful and historic neighborhood and would like to see it flourish once again. Not become Gulfton.
Be good sports like Incarnate Word – when Minute Maid moved in and wanted to sell booze across the street, IWA kindly moved their “official” front door to the other side of the building so they’d be a block away, complying with alcohol-by-a-school restrictions. Then again, the nuns there are happy boozers. (From a former non-nun teacher at IWA!)
Who’s to say St. Agnes got the wink-n-nod that the license won’t be granted so they pulled the suit to save on legal fees of pursuing it?
On the other hand, there are many drinking establishments throughout Houston. If one is becoming infamous, then law enforcement should respond appropriately wherever, regardless.
@SL: It was Houston’s finest prompt responses to reports of gun fire at Carnivale that helped the SCA get it shut down and ultimately stopped the owner of Carnivale from purchasing the old Gillman lot and opening a much bigger club there.
HPD and Harris County PCT 5 were actively involved in the meetings held about the issue as well.
The problem isn’t whether HPD will respond and if we can keep them from getting their license renewed when it is up, it is the problems caused between now and then that bothers most of us.