Milby High School students participate in a welding class on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 in Houston.
Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer
Sunnyside community members were shocked to discover this week that Houston ISD is ending its 30-year lease of Grimes Park to the city of Houston as it builds a new career and technical education center, according to the city parks department.
Melanie Young, president of the area’s Super Neighborhood group, said there was “despair and hopelessness” at their Thursday evening meeting about the park. The green space has been a go-to spot for children to hang out and youth football players to practice, Young said.
For years, neighbors in the historically neglected Sunnyside advocated for park renovations that finally happened in 2023. While residents knew HISD was eyeing the closed Grimes Elementary campus by the park for the project, Young said that the community did not know it would lose its park.
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“We want a trade school in the area, but I think what it comes down to is just engaging the community,” Young said. “Letting the community know what the plans are, what’s going to happen, what could be done. That allows people time to plan, and reorganize, and shift things, or even be heard … It just feels like things are just done without any consideration of the neighborhood and the people that live around it.”
Mike Miles, HISD’s state-appointed superintendent, first mentioned plans to build a career and technical education center in August 2025, and some details emerged last school year.
The state-appointed board of managers approved borrowing $182.5 million to build the center and, later, district officials disclosed it would be located at the Grimes campus, which closed in 2011. The new center is part of HISD’s goal to expand career and technical education after its proposal to open three centers district-wide with $375 million from a multibillion-dollar bond was shot down by voters in 2024.
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Now, HISD is pushing ahead with what it calls Southside Launchpad for students in south and central Houston and expanding the existing Barbara Jordan Career Center for those in north Houston. HISD officials said the center would serve nearly 4,000 students across eight high schools. It would have up to 17 programs, including biotechnology, pharmacy, construction management, engineering and robotics. HISD wanted the Southside campus to open for the 2028-29 school year and planned to break ground in fall 2027. But the Sept. 1 park closure to allow for construction was not publicly announced until Thursday, Sunnyside residents said.
Houston ISD did not respond to a request for comment.
Kenneth Allen, director of Houston Parks and Recreation, said the department was recently notified the nearly 30-year agreement with HISD was ending.
“HISD elected to exercise its right to terminate the agreement earlier than anticipated in order to begin site preparation for the construction of a new HISD technology center,” Allen said in a Friday statement. “In accordance with the terms of the agreement, HPARD has begun removing the lighting equipment and park amenities at Grimes Park following HISD’s notification that it has accelerated its development timeline. HPARD is actively coordinating with local sports leagues to identify alternate locations for their practices. We remain committed to supporting these leagues and ensuring their activities continue with as little disruption as possible.”
Allen said the department will continue working with community members for their needs.
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“We understand that the loss of this public green space will be disappointing to many residents and park users,” Allen said in the statement. “While this transition is outside the City’s control, we remain committed to advocating for opportunities and partnerships that expand access to quality parks, green spaces, and recreational amenities. We will continue working with community stakeholders to identify solutions that support the recreational needs of area residents and preserve opportunities for outdoor enjoyment.”
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Millions invested in park renovations
The Grimes Park renovation was completed in 2023 after community members advocated for decades for the city to invest more in its parks. The city of Houston partnered with private businesses — Wells Fargo and Cigna Healthcare — for the project. It was part of a sweeping public-private initiative to revitalize the city’s parks under former Mayor Sylvester Turner.
“There were people in that room who have been around 30 to 40 years fighting for Sunnyside, and to them, it feels like whenever Sunnyside gains something … they put in work, they put in effort, they advocate, and then the next thing you know — turn around, it’s gone,” Young said.
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Travis McGee, a local civic club president, said residents didn’t realize that HISD’s new career and technical education center would take away the park since the Grimes campus is located at 9220 Jutland and the park’s address is 5150 Reed. There are other abandoned schools nearby that could have been candidates for the new center, McGee said.
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McGee attended Grimes Elementary School and grew up playing basketball at the park next door. His son played football there.
McGee said community members are not against a trades-focused school, but they oppose taking away the park. He questioned why the city had leased the property instead of buying it.
HISD tried to sell the Grimes campus last year and was accepting bids, but it’s unclear whether the property offered for sale included the park.
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“The process was not transparent,” McGee said. “I think the HISD takeover is all about real estate and money, and I think our elected officials can do a better job of representing us. Now, if they chose not to represent us, at least give us a chance to represent ourselves.”
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‘No notice’
The sudden park closure has left Coach Eugene “Boo” Dixon “working overtime right now” to find a safe location with sufficient lighting nearby for evening football practices.
Southeast Lions youth football program has been playing at Grimes Park since 1993, Dixon said. The program serves about 120 kids a year, with as many as 300 kids in a year. They recently started a girls’ team.
Dixon has to apply for permits to use the park, and he thought — as of last week — the team had at least until the end of 2026 to use the park. But when he got to practice on Wednesday, he found that lights weren’t coming on, and poles had been taken down. There was machinery in the middle of the field, he said.
“It’s like coming home and getting put out your house, but you’re not behind on your rent or nothing,” Dixon said. “You know, just, it was no notice. You look up, and nothing you can do about it.”
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The team has already started fundraising and bought jerseys. By this time of year, many nearby parks are already booked, Dixon said. If he had known about this in February or March, he could have prepared.
Dixon is praying as he searches for a new location. He coaches the kids after his full-time job at a car dealership and picks up many of the kids for practice. He said he doesn’t want to move the practices far from Sunnyside.
“That’s not where my calling is,” Dixon said. “My calling is right here. So, I don’t want to get too far away from the children here, because these are the kids that I was called to serve.”