MISSION

To stimulate the redevelopment of the Scott Street corridor from 1-45 to Old Spanish Trail so that it is and will remain university-friendly and neighborhood-friendly.

FACTS

This is a major north-south artery linking the Gulf Freeway, downtown, and the Houston Medical Center (see triangle); and it runs between two major state universities.

Scott runs through an extremely diverse cluster of neighborhoods, serving all four major ethnic groups and running an economic gamut from the wealthy to the homeless.

The corridor was already well-known because of the proximity of UH, TSU, and the institutions of the Texas Medical Center; but in 2002 achieved international notice as the 2012 Olympic Committee pushed it to semi-final status in the selection of cities for those games (the proposed site encompassed the north end of this corridor).

Both universities and the Texas Medical Center are thriving entities, destined to be permanent and productive components of the South Central area of Houston; and all three entities are in desperate need of housing for students and staff, and for stable business areas.

The current state of the corridor is semi-to poorly-developed.

1. Small shopping center at the south end of the corridor, Renaissance Center, was developed by a group of residents under the leadership of Bishop Joseph Fiorenza and Bill Lawson. It is fully leased out and business thrives there.
2. Several small businesses tributary to Renaissance Center have emerged, largely Asian family businesses: restaurants, cleaning shops, etc.
3. The corridor, roughly 3 miles from 1-45 to OST, features a cluster of fast-food restaurants serving the universities, a high school, and a busy stretch between Elgin and Blodgett. But while two decades ago it was dotted with bars and one-night motels, these businesses are dead or dying (and the neighbors do not mourn the death of such traffic).
4. With a new thrust among universities on resident student bodies, and a new civic thrust (e. g., Third Ward Redevelopment Corporation, William A. Lawson Institute for Peace and Prosperity, etc.), there is a strengthening market for residential and commercial development.
5. Because the area is right now semi-developed, the huge 50,000-plus student population frequenting the area but not resident there, there is also a strong market for traffic in liquor, small businesses that cover for drugs, and motels that are not designed for travelers.