The Center's supporters rally at City Hall

If The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation does end up losing its West Dallas Avenue land, it's clear it won't happen quietly: Yesterday, about 200 of The Center's residents, board members and supporters made the scene at City Hall, holding banners outside the building and packing the City Council chamber to make their side of the story heard. The Center, you'll remember, is concerned over news that the city wants to seize the land that the agency has occupied for 44 years — a chunk of valuable inner-Loop real estate that could be worth $26 million. The Center has been on the site since it signed a $1-a-year, 99-year lease with Mayor Lewis Cutrer in 1963; recently, the city informed the agency that the lease isn't valid because the city charter limits such agreements to 30 years. Though Mayor Bill White has said the city will work to help find The Center a new location or will allow it to remain on its land for the market rate, the agency's officials say neither option is possible with their $11 million annual budget.

The Center's supporters hoped that appearing before City Council would help them make their point: "There are about 200 that live here, but there are 300 to 400 that come in from their homes — their group homes — or they may be living with their families and they have jobs here," Alison Bailey, a relative of one of The Center's residents, told KPRC. "I'm hoping [the city will] see the heart, and the caring is more important than the dollar." The group, carrying banners that read "Stop the city, save The Center," rallied on the steps of City Hall before moving to the Council chamber, where the Chronicle's Matt Stiles reports that things were standing room only. There, White said the city will work toward a solution: "Each person around this table feels a special obligation to the citizens facing disabilities in the community," he said. "I'll take whatever time it takes in order to try and bring this to a resolution."

Channel 2 reports that The Center's staff worked with residents for several days to prepare them for the trip to City Hall, as they could react badly to such a change in routine. But it was worth it, Terri Schwartz, a family member of a resident, said: "I hope today that the mayor will see the emotion and the face to this problem — the people that will be displaced, the families that depend on this inner-city center."