JE Dunn Construction worked with Harris County to redevelop Robert E. Lee Elementary School, originally built in 1919-1920, into the Leonel J. Castillo Community Center. Community members had expressed a strong desire for a neighborhood center in the historic Heights area north of downtown Houston.
The biggest challenge to renovating and reconstructing the historic building was saving the structure itself. After years of neglect and damage from Hurricane Ike in 2008, the building was on the verge of collapse. As a temporary fix, the county shored up the crumbling exterior walls and the disintegrating roof structure with bracing.