Houston Chronicle reporting some updates on the proposed Ismaili Center in Houston.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/sarnoff/6973867.html
Aga Khan plans still on
Plans are still in the works to build a Muslim Ismaili center at the corner of Allen Parkway and Montrose, according to the group that bought the property in 2006 and tore down the art deco warehouse that had sat on it for decades.
The Aga Khan Foundation purchased the 11-acre property with plans to build a facility to house conferences and lectures relating to the Aga Khan Development Network as well as for recitals and exhibitions to educate the public about Islam’s heritage.
The building was also expected to contain a prayer hall, classrooms and offices, the group said when it bought the property.
The design concept and timeline for development weren’t known when the property was purchased, however, and they still aren’t.
“At the moment, no concrete plans have been developed,” said Zahir Janmohamed, CEO of the Aga Khan Council for the USA.
For now, the site is being used as a construction staging area for work being done on a nearby bridge.
Nothing is likely to happen there until a similar Ismaili center, which should break ground this year, is completed in Toronto.
And then Houston will be one of three new centers that could be developed next. The other two are in Los Angeles and Paris.
The Aga Khan will make the decision.
“We stand a good one-third chance to be the next,” Janmohamed said.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/sarnoff/6973867.html
Ismailimail 