Westchase

[lolita66]

I live in Westchase. I can't say I'm surprised at all this --- car wash murder, murder at the Camden Park, etc. If you ever drive through the area around Briar Forest and Wilcrest, you might have noticed a real change in the area in the last 8 or 9 months. There are always groups of people walking from the apartment complexes to the shopping center there. Most have their pants hanging down below their butts, and just look like thugs. I was so mad when I heard about the car wash murder, but unfortunately wasn't surprised. Mayor White invited all these evacuees here and they don't have to pay rent, so why should they work. No reason to. And if they need money, they can just rob someone at the car wash.

And don't forget the murder at the car wash on Briarforest Sunday by four Katrina evacuaees.

I heard the Target's parking lot is too dangerous to walk in.

Dirty scuzballs everywhere.

I shop at that Target occasionally, but haven't heard anything about that shopping center. Any specifics you can give?

[MidtownCoog]

Just some friends who work at BMC. They had a car break in and were harrassed in the parking lot for change, etc. They think it was a setup.

No murders or anything, but these Katrina freaks are unpredictable.

Am I the only one who think Mayor White is out of touch? Where in the world is he on all this?

The only peep I have heard from him is that his daughter's arrest "might have been a mistake".

Nice.

[lolita66]

Just some friends who work at BMC. They had a car break in and were harrassed in the parking lot for change, etc. They think it was a setup.

No murders or anything, but these Katrina freaks are unpredictable.

Am I the only one who think Mayor White is out of touch? Where in the world is he on all this?

The only peep I have heard from him is that his daughter's arrest "might have been a mistake".

Nice.

Thanks. Today I told my husband I"m tired of seeing this area on the news, for the wrong reasons. Saturday was the car wash murder, this morning we heard about the murder at Camden Park, then at lunch, Channel 11 had a segment about some guy robbing dollar stores, and the last store that was hit was the Dollar Tree at Westheimer and Wilcrest. This used to be a nice area and I felt safe here. Things have changed way too much for me in the last year.

My husband and I often talk about Mayor White being out of touch.

[TheNiche]

Just some friends who work at BMC. They had a car break in and were harrassed in the parking lot for change, etc. They think it was a setup.

No murders or anything, but these Katrina freaks are unpredictable.

Am I the only one who think Mayor White is out of touch? Where in the world is he on all this?

The only peep I have heard from him is that his daughter's arrest "might have been a mistake".

Nice.

I've got to disagree with you here.

As a matter of policy, it is a very good idea for cities prone to hurricanes to consistently cooperate with one another during disasters. If we provide evacuation, police, fire, and health support services to other cities, it sets us up to receive those services in our time of need. Remember how Dallas was getting all bitchy about handling our evacuees? Do you think that they'd be like that if they were on the coast?

I'd bet you that if Katrina had hit us instead, our people would've been packed into the Superdome and every spare hotel room in East Texas and Louisiana. We've probably got enough spare housing stock in central, north, northwest, and west Houston to be able to absorb a fair bit of our own evacuee population, but even then, the New Orleans MSA is about a quarter of our population and we were still overwhelmed with them. So I think that having friends is better than having enemies in these conditions.

Reliant Energy and Centerpoint similarly provide repair services to other coastal power companies when they get hit; it is good policy for them because one day, the Houston area will get hit. We'll need friends.

[MidtownCoog]

Are we even talking about the same thing? I don't think so by your post.

Mayor White is out of touch with the crime spree in West Houston. And note, it's not just Southwest Houston anymore. It has expanded.

And as far as this:

I'd bet you that if Katrina had hit us instead, our people would've been packed into the Superdome and every spare hotel room in East Texas and Louisiana

Not this Texan. I'll live in a tent in my backyard before I go live in the Superdome with a bunch of poor arse bastards.

[TheNiche]

Are we even talking about the same thing? I don't think so by your post.

Mayor White is out of touch with the crime spree in West Houston. And note, it's not just Southwest Houston anymore. It has expanded.

And as far as this:

Not this Texan. I'll live in a tent in my backyard before I go live in the Superdome with a bunch of poor arse bastards.

Yep. Not you. Not myself. Probably only a very very slim percentage of people who use HAIF. We just aren't the right demographic for that kind of thing.

So how is Mayor White out of touch?

[musicman]

Thanks. Today I told my husband I"m tired of seeing this area on the news, for the wrong reasons. Saturday was the car wash murder, this morning we heard about the murder at Camden Park, then at lunch, Channel 11 had a segment about some guy robbing dollar stores, and the last store that was hit was the Dollar Tree at Westheimer and Wilcrest. This used to be a nice area and I felt safe here. Things have changed way too much for me in the last year.

My husband and I often talk about Mayor White being out of touch.

I did see all these stories you mentioned and wondered how it was out in Westchase. To be honest I rarely make it west of the west loop but remember it used to be a very nice place. Crime is on the increase in many areas around Houston.

I understand your comment on Mayor White being out of touch. The crime issue seems to be a thorn in his side at the moment. He continues to back the Chief even though crime is increasing. most members of the union consider the chief a poor leader. You must reevaluate your choices regularly and adjust accordingly. It seems like the Mayor isn't willing to do that because he's afraid the people will think less of him.

[MidtownCoog]

Mayor White:

He's a good guy with far too many many irons in the fire.

I keep looking for the one White initiative taken from concept to completion.

He does not take crime and the crime lab problems seriously. He inherited them, of course.

Just like the next mayor will inherit all of White's half-executed initiatives. Red light cameras and red light syncorinization come to mind.

From Chief Hurt, who's first initiative was buying stun-guns, to his ever lasting defense of Carol Alvarado, he's just not making the grade.

And don't get me wrong. I like White.

I voted for him.

[TheNiche]

Valid points.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, though.

[MidtownCoog]

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, though.

Me, too!

[lolita66]

I did see all these stories you mentioned and wondered how it was out in Westchase. To be honest I rarely make it west of the west loop but remember it used to be a very nice place. Crime is on the increase in many areas around Houston.

I understand your comment on Mayor White being out of touch. The crime issue seems to be a thorn in his side at the moment. He continues to back the Chief even though crime is increasing. most members of the union consider the chief a poor leader. You must reevaluate your choices regularly and adjust accordingly. It seems like the Mayor isn't willing to do that because he's afraid the people will think less of him.

We live in a small townhome complex, and there has been a couple of cars broken into in the last month or 2. It's usually very quiet here. It's the surrounding area that has more "action", especially the large apartment complexes. I still consider Westchase a pretty nice place, but it's not the same Westchase from 10 years ago. We recently inherited an older home in Hunters Creek, so we won't be here much longer.

[musicman]

police just found a dead body at tanglewilde and ella lee. They are saying it was a murder in a home.

[Jeebus]

police just found a dead body at tanglewilde and ella lee. They are saying it was a murder in a home.

More apartments.. Shocker.

[VicMan]

1. I'm going to quote a part of the Wikipedia article about Westchase (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westchase%2C_Houston%2C_Texas) to show what its school boundaries are. Yes, Westchase is a commercial district, but every nook and cranny of it has townhomes or apartments:

"Most of Westchase, which is south of Westheimer and west of Gessner Road, is zoned to schools in Alief Independent School District, while the parts north of Westheimer and parts east of Gessner Road are zoned to the Houston Independent School District. While Westchase is primarily a commercial district, the district also includes apartments and townhomes with residents.

The school zoning for the Alief ISD portion is as follows:

* The portion inside Beltway 8 south of Westheimer and west of Gessner is zoned to Sneed Elementary School (Sneed Elementary is in the Westchase district), Budewig Intermediate School, and O'Donnell Middle School.

* The portion outside Beltway 8 north of the Westpark Tollway and south of Westheimer is zoned to Outley Elementary School, Budewig Intermediate School, and O'Donnell Middle School.

* The portion outside Beltway 8 south of the Westpark Tollway is zoned to Chancellor Elementary School (Bilingual students go to Youens Elementary School), Owens Intermediate School, and Alief Middle School.

* Westchase students in Alief ISD may attend Elsik, Hastings, and Taylor high schools, as high school assignments in Alief ISD are determined by a lottery.

The school zoning for the Houston ISD portion is as follows:

* Areas north of Westheimer and west of East Rivercrest are zoned to: Walnut Bend Elementary School, Paul Revere Middle School (Revere is located in Westchase) with West Briar Middle School as an option, and Westside High School.

* Areas north of Westheimer, east of East Rivercrest, and west of Gessner are zoned to: Emerson Elementary School, Paul Revere Middle School (with West Briar Middle School as an option) and Westside High School.

* Areas west of Gessner (whether north or south of Westheimer) are zoned to: Emerson Elementary School, Paul Revere Middle School, and Lee High School with Lamar High School and Westside High School as boundary transfer options.

"

2. Is Westchase and Briar Forest getting this stuff because of Alief?

[PureAuteur]

Yep. Another murder in Westchase at Tanglewilde and Ella Lee, which on the map, is frighteningly close to Piney Point Village, the wealthiest neighborhood in Houston.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/9654056/detail.html

[Jeebus]

2. Is Westchase and Briar Forest getting this stuff because of Alief?

Yes and No.

No: Briarforest has its own problems with the apartment complexes at:

1. Wilcrest north of Briarforest

2. Briarforest east of Wilcrest

3. Hayes between Westeimer & Briarforest

3. Kirkwood @ Briarforest

All those apartment complexes are zoned for HISD, and are the reasons why there are problems along the Briar Forest corridor.

Yes: Westchase's problems stem from apartments being zoned to AISD.

[PureAuteur]

If the homeowners in Westchase truly cared about the future of their area, they'd be forming a coalition to hold all the apartment property managers accountable. They could probably single out about 4 or 5 main complexes that are responsible for most of the crimes in Westchase, and figure out some way to hold them accountable for the crime, although I don't know exactly how they'd do that. They should allow city officials to go to the complexes and do "resident checks" to find out exactly how apartments are being leased and who is living there that is not on a lease or not a resident of the United States. Also, you should not be allowed to rent an apartment unless you have proof of a steady job or self-employed with a legitimate source of income (no drug dealers), are a resident of the United States, and have no criminal background.

Then there's the proximity to Alief, and there's really nothing that can be done about that. Alief is a lost cause.

[westguy]

Where are the homes in Westchase?

Alief's getting sucked into the New Chinatown. You can tell because the bilingual signage has spread to there.

[lolita66]

Yep. Another murder in Westchase at Tanglewilde and Ella Lee, which on the map, is frighteningly close to Piney Point Village, the wealthiest neighborhood in Houston.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/9654056/detail.html

I don't consider the area at Tanglewilde and Ella Lee to be Westchase. I think that's Woodlake.

[PureAuteur]

Yeah, but that's the only truly good area that surrounds Westchase. When an area bordering Piney Point village starts to have murders, that's when Westchase is really in trouble.

[lolita66]

Yeah, but that's the only truly good area that surrounds Westchase. When an area bordering Piney Point village starts to have murders, that's when Westchase is really in trouble.

You're right. I used to consider Briar Forest as a fairly decent area (that was when I moved here almost 20 years ago). Now the area especially between the tollway and Kirkwood has gotten pretty bad.

The more I see the news, the more anxious I am to move to our home in Hunters Creek that we inherited.

[zaphod]

heh. i always though that part of town was interesting because of the office buildings and all the asian stuff.

I never considered that part of town to be anywhere near nice, but never wouldve thought it was dangerous or anything... that really sucks.

It seems like this city has a major problem with horrible apartment complexes and slumlord developers really all over town. But then if you fixed that, we'd have lots of homeless people... i guess its a tradeoff. Its weird though, houstons the only american city that i can think off where there are LOTS of suburban ghettos

Ive always wondered, is there a map of all apartments and complexes in the city and then you could use data like decreasing/increasing rent and crime stats and overlay it in photoshop and it would be interesting to see how this has spread over the years.

[PureAuteur]

Its weird though, houstons the only american city that i can think off where there are LOTS of suburban ghettos

Blame that on lack of zoning and sprawl. Oh, and the fact that Houston is way too big to be manageable. However, if I was Mayor White, I'd think outside the box and come up with a radical and effective solution for getting rid of all the crime. I'd be up for the challenge, but it seems like he is just in denial.

[VicMan]

The Westchase District website has a directory for homes.

Let's see...

Residential:

* Walnut Bend Apartments (10881 Richmond)

* Residence at Westchase Apartments (3411 Walnut Bend)

* Westchase Garden Condominiums (10811 Richmond)

* Richmond Towne Home Apartments (10777 Richmond)

* Western Ridge Apartments (3354 Rogerdale)

* Royal Palms (Wilcrest @ Wilcrest Green)

* Alta Royal Oaks Apartments (11212 Westpark)

* Camden Park Apartments (2700 Woodland Park)

* Archstone Plaza at Westchase Apartments (2601 Woodland Park)

* Farnham Park Apartments (2777 Woodland Park)

* Citywest Apartments (2828 Hayes)

* Camden Creek Apartments (3000 Woodland Park)

* Park at Meadowglen (11383 Meadowglen)

* Windemere Apartments (2909 Hayes)

* Holiday on Hayes Apartments (3131 Hayes)

* Gramercy Park Apartments (3225 Woodland Park)

* Westchase Forest Apartments (11355 Richmond)

* Celebration at Westchase Apartments (10936 Meadowglen)

* Walnut Terrace Apartments (2801 Walnut Bend)

* Wallingford Apartments (2750 Wallingford)

* Walden of Westchase Apartments (2828 Rogerdale)

* Oaks of Westchase Apartments (2851 Wallingford)

* Meadows Apartments (10615 Meadowglen)

* Cambridge Place Apartments (10901 Meadowglen)

* Walnut Meadow Center (2901 Walnut Bend)

* Riverstone Condominiums (3005-3085 Walnut Bend)

* Amhearst Apartments (10440 Valley Forge)

* Belmont LaFontaine Apartments (10500 Valley Forge)

* Sunblossom at Woodlake Apartments (2200 South Gessner)

* Park at Woodlake Apartments (9545 Ella Lee)

* Woodlake Townhome Apartments (2600 Westerland)

* Retreat at Westpark Apartments (10575 Westpark)

* Aberdeen Townhome Apartments (3400 Woodchase)

* Elm Grove Condominiums (9809 Richmond)

* Doma Chase Apartments (9707 Richmond)

* Fountains of Westchase Apartments (3620 Woodchase)

* Westchase Townhomes (9800-9850 Pagewood)

* Pagewood Place Apartments (9767 Pagewood)

* Willow Falls Apartments (10100 Westpark)

* Berkshires at Westchase Apartments (10070 Westpark)

* Park Plaza Apartments (10010 Westpark)

* Parkwest Place Apartments (10161 Westpark)

* Woodchase Village Condominiums (Westpark at Woodchase)

* Meadowridge Condominiums (3900 Woodchase)

* Sunstream Villas Condominiums (10075 Westpark)

* Wind River Park Townhomes (3901 Woodchase)

* Idlewood Condomiuniums (10047-10053 Westpark)

* Sun Ridge Villas I and II Condominiums (10001 Westpark)

* Westchase Manor (3350 Briarpark)

* Parc Royale Apartments (2727 Elmside)

* Retreat at Westchase Apartments (2921 Briarpark)

* Sunset Shadows Apartments (9850 Meadowglen)

* Stonecrossing of Westchase Apartments (3030 Elmside)

* Pathway Apartments (2901 Elmside)

* Woodchase Apartments (2900 South Gessner)

* Madison Park Apartments (9851 Meadowglen)

* Landing at Westchase Apartments (9797 Meadowglen)

* Townhomes at Westchase (3200 South Gessner)

* Richmond Green Apartments (9940 Richmond)

* Woodtrail Apartments (9900 Richmond)

* Central Park Apartments (3230 South Gessner)

* Camden Stonebridge Apartments (9850 Richmond)

Proposed residential:

* 2401 South Gessner

Hotels:

* Comfort Suites (2830 Wilcrest)

* Hampton Inn Suites (6440 West Sam Houston Parkway)

* Motel 6 (2900 West Sam Houston Parkway)

* Holiday Inn Express & Suites (2930 West Sam Houston Parkway)

* Best Western (2950 West Sam Houston Parkway)

* Red Roof Inn (2960 West Sam Houston Parkway)

* Studio 6 (3030 West Sam Houston Parkway)

* Sun Suites (3100 West Sam Houston Parkway)

* Extended Stay of America (3200 West Sam Houston Parkway)

* Homewood Suites by Hilton (2424 Rogerdale)

* Fairfield Inn (2400 West Sam Houston Parkway)

* StudioPlus (10410 Westheimer)

* Candlewood Suites (4033 West Sam Houston Parkway)

* Westchase Hilton & Towers (9999 Westheimer)

* Houston Marriott Westchase (2900 Briarpark)

* Courtyard Marriott (9975 Westheimer)

* Residence Inn (9965 Westheimer)

[musicman]

Blame that on lack of zoning and sprawl. Oh, and the fact that Houston is way too big to be manageable.

Sprawl is the problem, which makes home prices cheaper because of cheaper land prices which draws people to the area.

[Jeebus]

Yeah, but that's the only truly good area that surrounds Westchase. When an area bordering Piney Point village starts to have murders, that's when Westchase is really in trouble.

No area truly surrounds Westchase at all. As for home owning neighborhoods, the only that border Westchase are Walnut Bend, Country Village, Lakeside Estates, Briargrove Park, and Tanglewilde. Its up to those HOA's to work with the Westchase Development District if they want to keep their commercial (shopping, dining, & service) areas nice.

Westchase has an edge on other areas in that is is situated along Westheimer. Westheimer is the main commercial artery for the city. There are no true "ghettos" along Westheimer.

Alief's getting sucked into the New Chinatown. You can tell because the bilingual signage has spread to there.

Our new Chinatown and Little Vietnam are growing at a breakneck pace. I wouldn't be surprised to see in 20 years all of Alief to be considered a part of Houston's SE Asian community.

[Parrothead]

How in the world does Tanglewilde and Ella Lee border Piney Point Village?

I noticed a segment on one of the news stations a few nights ago about Westchase hiring their own private cops and calling them instead of HPD? WTF?

[Jeebus]

I noticed a segment on one of the news stations a few nights ago about Westchase hiring their own private cops and calling them instead of HPD? WTF?

Westchase Development District already has uniformed HPD officers riding around in Westchase District emergency vehicles. I guess all businesses that "pay up" are entitled to the service. Not too different from what the Constibles offer - or the Sopranos' for that manner!

[lockmat]

I am such a dunderhead, It is West8 that I am referring too also, BUT, I swear there is another name for it. I have seen renderings, and there was a mention of it on Channel 2 about 4 months ago.

Did they ever break ground on that West8? Any renderings ever released? The developer doesn't have a website.

[NewMND]

Did they ever break ground on that West8? Any renderings ever released? The developer doesn't have a website.

Kinda. They've built apartments on the site, but that's about all I know.