Coppell Chronicle Vol. 4, No. 5
Irving Councilman Spills the H-E-Beans • Plans for Fire Station Keep Trucking Along • Levee District Needs a Few New Pumps • Irving Libraries to Shift Mature Content
I owe an apology to a woman whose name I failed to catch at J. Macklin’s on Tuesday. I was having dinner with my family, and she was seated at the next table with five other ladies. She shouted my name, and when I looked over with a confused expression, she identified herself as a subscriber before touting this newsletter to her companions as a great source of information.
There’s probably a smooth way to respond to such situations, but this doofus certainly couldn’t find it. Sorry about that.
Irving Councilman Spills the H-E-Beans
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: I am not reporting that Dallas County’s first H-E-B grocery store will be built in Coppell ISD. But Al Zapanta sure is!
Zapanta was among a handful of Irving officials who met with Coppell ISD trustees and administrators at Canyon Ranch Elementary School on Monday night. During that meeting, he said this:
In case you couldn’t hear him, Zapanta said, “H-E-B is coming to us.” Before issuing that comment, the Irving City Council member turned away from the microphone and toward a few Coppell ISD administrators sitting behind him, because “I want to say something nice for you ladies.” What a charmer!
This was the first time I’d heard Zapanta — or anybody — say on the record that H-E-B will occupy a building that’s supposed to be constructed on a vacant tract along the westbound service road of Interstate 635, between Olympus Boulevard and Belt Line Road. Zapanta hinted at it during a January council meeting but stopped himself from uttering those three magic letters.
(See “Irving Official Drops Big Hint About H-E-B” in Vol. 3, No. 49)
After Zapanta spilled the beans on Monday, Coppell ISD Superintendent Brad Hunt said he was excited because H-E-B is “a huge supporter of public education. I mean, they are putting their money where their mouth is in so many ways.”
The land along 635 is owned by LTFI Investors, a firm that shares a Los Angeles address with a company called LaTerra Development. In December of 2022, LaTerra managing director Chris Tourtellotte said this to the Irving City Council: “Once the neighborhood learns of the tenant that we’re talking to, I think you’re going to say, ‘Wow! My home value just went up.’ I think you’re going to be very, very pleased.”
(See “Storage Units OK’d With Promise of Store” in Vol. 2, No. 42)
During a pair of public hearings in January of this year, LTFI was represented by Joe LaCroix, a civil engineer with Fort Worth-based Baird, Hampton & Brown. On Thursday, I sent emails to LaCroix’s address, LaTerra’s address for general inquiries, and a group address for H-E-B’s public affairs department, asking if anyone would like to comment on Zapanta’s latest comments. The only response came from H-E-B.
“We have not purchased property in Irving for our H-E-B format at this time,” said Mabrie Jackson, the grocery chain’s managing director of public affairs. “If that should change, we will certainly let the media know.”
Monday’s joint meeting between the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees and a portion of Irving’s City Council was the first of its kind. Zapanta, who represents the north end of the city, was joined by Brad LaMorgese, who represented that area before being elected to one of the council’s two at-large seats, and City Manager Chris Hillman. Mayor Rick Stopfer, Irving’s only elected official who resides in Coppell ISD, was there briefly before leaving for another engagement.
Here are a few other interesting tidbits from that meeting:
• It turns out that David Caviness is Coppell ISD’s only trustee who has never lived in Irving. Jobby Mathew and Ranna Raval are Irving residents, and the other four all lived there before they were elected. “It’s great that many of you have had a chance to live in Irving,” Hillman said. “David, it’s never too late.”
• Hillman hinted that Irving cops might be able to serve as school resource officers at the two Coppell ISD campuses in Irving. Canyon Ranch Elementary has a Dallas County sheriff’s deputy on site, and the SRO at Valley Ranch Elementary is a security officer employed by D&L Entertainment Services.
• LaMorgese said there are plans to install Texas U-turns on either side of Belt Line where it crosses I-635. That news prompted Mathew to raise both hands, as if he was saying “Hallelujah” or signaling a touchdown.
Plans for Fire Station Keep Trucking Along
Although some neighbors are opposed to a fire station being built on Moore Road, it appears to be a done deal.
The plans for Fire Station 5 were the subject of a public hearing before the Coppell Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday. Three people signed up to speak during the hearing, and all three said the property next to Austin Elementary School is a bad spot for a fire station. They expressed concerns about traffic, safety, and property values.