CALHOUN BANISHED FROM UH’S CALHOUN LOFTS 
A statement out this afternoon from UH: “The University of Houston does not have statues, memorials or monuments honoring the Confederate era. Calhoun Lofts were originally named to coincide with the name of the adjacent city street when the university began its aggressive residential expansion in the last decade. While the residence hall was not named in recognition of John C. Calhoun, in the wake of recent events, and out of sensitivity to our diverse student community the university has decided to change the name to University Lofts. The change will be made as soon as practical.” [Daily Cougar] Photo of Calhoun Lofts, 4700 Calhoun Rd.: Kirksey Architecture
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Tag: Dorms
HCC IS PLANNING A STUDENT DORM BUILDING TOO, AT ALABAMA AND ALMEDA 
A report from Houston Community College says the commuter school is “in the early stages of planning” its own new dorm complex on the 6 acres of land it bought late last year at the northeast corner of Alabama and Almeda, just southeast of the system’s central campus. The only building currently on the site is the trashed but still brightly painted 107-year-old house at 1625 Alabama St. (pictured at top left) that most recently served as a temporary satellite space for DiverseWorks.
The dorms, which would include first-floor retail space and a parking garage, would be modeled after the Tobin Lofts at Alamo Colleges’ San Antonio College in San Antonio (bottom photo). They’d be built and leased out by a private company “until the business makes a predetermined return on its investment,” according to the report. “After approximately seven years, the complex would be given to HCC to own and manage from then on.” [The Chalkboard] Photos: HCC (top); Tobin Lofts (bottom)
A company that’s been building a growing chain of private college dorms is seeking a 10-year tax abatement from the city to help it build a $56 million 305,076-sq.-ft. complex just north of the Gulf Fwy. from the University of Houston. Houston’s version of Aspen Heights (as the company and all its dorms are named) would sit on 7.7 acres just north of the Catholic Charismatic Center on Cullen Blvd., across the street from the former Finger Furniture warehouse recently purchased by developer Frank Liu. The dorms would sit in the far southeast corner of East Downtown, backing up to the railroad tracks that form the neighborhoods northern and eastern boundary:
A Quarter Mile from Campus
COMMENT OF THE DAY: MY CENTRAL SQUARE DORM DREAM “When I was at school at UH-D, I would take the rail up to campus everyday and see those two buildings there. To best contribute to the urban fabric, I often would imagine that someone would redevelop them as dorms, and the block that is between it and the rail line could be repurposed as a plaza with a few cafes that would link the building to the rail. The private dorms could serve UH-D, HCC Central, South Texas Law, the medical schools, and even UH and TSU once the University line is complete. Having students commute from the various schools to this central location would add vibrancy to the area and could bring about good academic fellowship. Not sure of the economic feasibility, but it would wildly popular (if the dorm fees were reasonable). Since it’s college kids, renovations need only consist of low cost furnishings, concrete floors, bare ceilings, and maybe a gym and cafeteria. Gotta dream big.” [VMel, commenting on New Owners of Central Square Plaza Want To Make Something of It]
Rice University Facilities, Engineering, and Planning department spokesperson Susann Glenn denies there’s been any increase in the number of reported on-campus sightings of rats over the last 2 years. But senior Marina Masciale tells the Rice Thresher rats have “pretty much infiltrated” the new section of Hanszen College. Her evidence: “rat turds all over the floor of my room and even on my bed.”
A sticky rat trap was put up in her room to try and catch the rat, but the trap only caught a cockroach which Masciale believes the rat then proceeded to eat, as it was gone the next day. “Housing and Dining has since then upgraded to heavy-duty rat traps – the ones that snap,” Masciale says.
After some holes were patched, Masciale is sleeping in her own room again. But she tells reporter Brooke Bullock
she can still hear the rats scratching in the A/C unit. The girls across the hall have heard it in their room as well, according to Masciale.
“It’s still alive, and it’s trying to escape,” Masciale said.
- Rats, ants infest Hanszen, Wiess [Rice Thresher]
Ever wonder what it would be like if hundreds of mating-season-crazed bats infested your home? If your home happens to be a men’s dorm at Texas Southern University, there’s no need to imagine.
Yes, last weekend was batting practice time again at TSU’s Lanier Hall East dormitory. Before the 211 students living there were moved into area hotels, some of them got in a few swings, as documented in this YouTube video. Sure, the delivery may have included some wild pitches, but the bats may also have been throwing rabies spitballs.
Extermination teams are reportedly working on clearing out the (now obviously mosquito-free) dorm.
- Caught on Tape: Bat Infestation at TSU [MyFox Houston]
- Bats Force TSU Students Out Of Dorm [Click2Houston]
- Some TSU students may need rabies shots [Houston Chronicle]