A reader reports seeing some activity on the long-vacant 9.177-acre melting-erlenmeyer-flask-shaped parcel of land at the northeast corner of Hwy. 288 and North MacGregor Way: no construction equipment yet, but crews were picking up trash and cutting grass. The Houston Community College system bought the property last November with plans to build a new medical-focused charter high school on the property.
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The official name for the school will be the HCC Coleman College of Health Sciences’ Medical Science & Technology Early College Charter High School, but you can figure students will be calling it HCCCCHSMS&TECCHS for short. The photo above shows the view from the On the Roxx Bar & Lounge across the street from the property (and pictured below) at 2541 N. MacGregor.
- HCC Buys Land in Third Ward for New Medical Science & Technology Early College Charter High School [Carroll G. Robinson]
- New Medical Science & Technology High School on N. MacGregor at 288 [HAIF]
Photo: Swamplot inbox
And, just across the bayou is the DeBakey High School for the Health Professions. Rivalry in the making?
Awesome, because that area is not already choked up with traffic leaving the medical center and Debakey (until Debakey moves) at the same time.
i have read that Debakey is moving to a new school on Holcombe on the old Shamrock parking garage in the next couple of years.
this new school is going to enjoy the homeless and mental patients released from HCPC as they they all use the bus stop by the new school when they are discharged…
Bummer. I had such high hopes for that land. We need a HEB or any grocery store desperately.
I am very glad that the lot will go to public institutional use, rather than as a strip mall or hundreds of townhomes. It is a superb location, and I can’t believe it has sat vacant for this long. I thought a grocery store would have liked the spot, but I guess not.
One bigger question – why is HCC now in the high school business? Is this a new thing, and is it really necessary? I think I’d rather that my property tax money go to the existing HISD charter school program, which is highly successful, but I may have missed something.
In addition to being a terribly inefficient shape, the original channel of Brays Bayou ran through that site and had been filled in. I sure hope that HCCS hires a good engineer. And that they paid a price for the land that reflects the possibility of having to stabilize land or of having to beef up their foundation.
I agree that this area needs a huge grocery store and a Pappasito’s and few smaller places. Medical high school is across the street… and not sure this is ideal for future of Houston… maybe HCC should trade property with the tiny Kroger’s on OST (original signature store probably) and we could have the best of both worlds…….