New restaurant and retail buildings could be developed on the city-owned property located at Acuff Lane and Colleyville Boulevard following council's approval of a purchase-sale agreement at the Jan. 6 meeting. 

What’s happening?: Sanford P. Aron, the president of Huntington Properties, intends to purchase this 6-acre property for $3.1 million to construct commercial, retail and restaurant buildings, Assistant City Manager Mark Wood said. 

“We have a letter of intent with [Hunington Properties], but until a purchase-sale agreement is approved and the property is under contract, [the developer] can’t go out into the market to secure desired users,” Wood said. 

The contract has a feasibility period of 150 days which the developer must bring zoning changes to the planning and zoning commission and council for approval, Wood said. Closing on the property is subject to Aron obtaining council-approved zoning changes for the intended property improvements, Wood said.

Kawaii Kollections will be opening a second store in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

In a nutshell: The store sells stuffed animals, phone cases, nails, and accessories. According to its social media page, characters sold include Kuromi, Labubu, Naruto, Pokémon and Cinnamoroll.
Kawaii Kollections is moving into a space recently vacated by Majestic Vanity, according to previous reporting.

The background: The company’s first location is at Town East Mall in Mesquite. Renovations are underway at the new spot, with shelving already in the store inside Grapevine Mills.

• 3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway, Ste. 616, Grapevine

A women’s clothing store is now open in Grapevine Mills.

El Palacio offers a variety of shapewear, as well as jeans, leggings, purses and accessories.

The background: The store moved into a space formerly occupied by Sock Em’ Sock Emporium. According to previous reporting, that store opened Dec. 3, 2021, at the mall.

• 3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway, Ste. 505, Grapevine

Texas charter system Harmony Public Schools launched a new virtual learning platform on Jan. 5 that allows students across the state to take high school courses online.

The overview: The Harmony Online Learning program includes dozens of courses aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards, all of which are self-paced, according to a news release.

More details: Students can choose from dozens of courses in core subjects, electives, Advanced Placement and Career and Technical Education, according to the program’s website. The offerings aim to help students complete credit recovery, get ahead with their requirements and access courses not available at their home campus. Credit earned through Harmony may be applied toward high school graduation requirements depending on local district policies, per the release.

One more thing: Interested families can enroll online, and spring courses begin Jan. 12, per the release. The cost of tuition per course is $325, a spokesperson from Harmony Public Schools told Community Impact.