Houston City Council approved a land purchase April 15 to help clear the way for a $10.62 million rebuild of a portion of Shepherd Drive.

The parcel, located at 909 Shepherd Drive, was the former location of a Jack in the Box fast food restaurant. To complete the purchase, the city agreed to pay $39,000 to offset lost lease revenue to the property owner, for a total acquisition cost of $365,436.

The city's Capital Improvement Program scheduled the overhaul of Shepherd and Durham drives from Washington Avenue to Dickson Street to begin this spring, delayed from an original start date in 2017.

The project will bring new concrete paving with storm drainage, curbs, sidewalks, driveways, street lighting and underground utility lines to the corridor. Interior streets Lillian, Rose, Floyd, Blossom and Gibson will receive improvements as well, with construction estimated to take over a year to complete. The CIP website lists the project as 90% completed in the design phase.