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Westbury Square Developments


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There is limited electrical service to Westbury Square. I was over there this afternoon and could only find 1 apartment unit that had a good electrical meter. It is probably some friend of Antonelli's or something like that. The rest of the square except the theatre group and the school house has no electricity unless they have hidden the meters.

It is interesting that you mention crime around the shopping center. I spoke with 2 HPD officers this evening and they told me that the shopping center has very little crime. Not sure where anyone gets information to the contrary. Westbury as a subdivision has very little crime. And I do not appreciate anyone spreading talk that there is a crime problem. I have lived here since 1994 and have monitored the crime reports periodically and there is not a crime problem in Westbury. Take a look at the HPD stats versus areas like Spring Branch or Montrose or Midtown or look at Bellaire's crime stats. It is unfair to paint Westbury in the same brushstroke as places like Sharpstown or Fondren Southwest or Mission Bend or the east end.

The auto repair place that is there now is an independent and very nice guys. Much nicer and I feel very honest vs Angels (Burdine/Chimney Rock). You are correct we DO NOT need 2 check cashing places in the shopping center. But right now these are the cards we are dealt. I think these type of places are simply a cancer that has infested all areas of town including Kingwood, Clear Lake, areas of Memorial, and the Heights. The sooner Congress passes legislation regulating them the sooner we get rid of them. My understanding is that Weingarten still owns the shopping center through one of their off-shoot companies. A commercial real estate friend tells me they have several branches that they lease their "lower tier" shopping centers via. I may be wrong, but that is based on information from several real estate folks.

Now I know for a fact that the HEB where 99cent only is now was not closed due to crime. A very close friend of mine is in a very high level management position at HEB's corporate office in San Antonio and the reason the store was closed is 2 fold. 1. They had planned to open a new store at W. Fuqua and Beltway 8 within 1 year of closing the W. Bellfort store. This plan was scuttled because Chimney Rock would not be put through, being replaced by Ft Bend Tollway. HEB's plans were to have a HEB Plus concept there and since the CIty of Houston had planned to run CR through they would have access to Westbury & Meyerland residents. They would then close down the Chimney Rock/S. Braeswood store. Secondly, the W. Bellfort store was also closed due to Weingarten's greed. They wanted to raise the rent significantly on HEB so HEB chose to close the store when their lease expired. Many in Westbury knew of the stores closing months before it closed, not days. Another contributing factor to the closure was HEB's decision to end the Pantry concept in Houston. This W. Bellfort store was smaller than the S. Braeswood store and could not be easily converted into a "regular" small footprint HEB. (Just an FYI, it appears the HEB in Bellaire will be closed when the HEB on Buffalo Speedway is opened)

As for demoing the shopping center and letting it grow over. The civic club would not let that happen. There is enough political clout these days with Mayor White and Councilperson Clutterbuck that it simply would not be allowed to happen. I think Anne is gathering enough political steam to be like Martha Wong when she did a lot to update parts of Fondren SW before leaving office.

The plans for the centerette are communuted due to Pizza Hut and Auto Zone. The entire block bounded by Cedarhurst/Moonlight/W. Bellfort/Chimney Rock will be demolished EXCEPT Pizza Hut and Auto Zone. There will also be a 're-engineering' of the NE quadrant of the intersection to smooth out traffic turning from W. Bellfort (westbound) to Chimney Rock (northbound). My understanding is that CVS will build a new standalone store on the parcel and there will be a shopping area with 2-3 stories of residential units above that. I'm trying to get someone to take the old Centerette sign and repair it and relight it with the clock once the new center is opened. Time will tell.

Once we get past the economic problems there are some other projects that are very exciting planned for the area including covering the drainage ditch running in the middle of Chimney Rock. And I believe the COH is looking at the storage tank at Kinglet and Chimney Rock to "rightsize" that facility. I'd love for them to build a nice water tower like at Bellaire Blvd and S. Gessner and let Westbury put its logo on the tower.

This is all very good news, Dr. Food. Thanks for the updates. Westbury is such an enormous, solid residential area that is can clearly support new retail. CVS, HEB, these would all be terrific additions to the neighborhood. It would be great to see some more mom & pop-type local establishments open, too, though I guess that's unlikely these days.

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This is all very good news, Dr. Food. Thanks for the updates. Westbury is such an enormous, solid residential area that is can clearly support new retail. CVS, HEB, these would all be terrific additions to the neighborhood. It would be great to see some more mom & pop-type local establishments open, too, though I guess that's unlikely these days.

Yes, thank you. DrFood for all of the updates. I understand your frustration with people spreading rumors about the crime in Westbury. However, I can't fully blame people for thinking this. When people drive by and see WS, and all run down junk we have around, its only natural to assume the worst. That's why it's so important to get this stuff out of here. I hope Clubberbuck gets on the ball, I was never able to get a hold of her a couple of years ago, so far I'm not impressed.

Does the closing of the Centrette include getting rid of the boarded up area that used to be a rehab center, and I think a laundry place?

The theater is an interesting group, they basically seem to get by on word of mouth. I've been meaning to go see some shows over there, some of them are pretty good. I agree that they could do more to get to know the residents as to not appear snobbish.

Lastly, what's the deal with the Cozy Corner, that is next to the old Post Office. That place has been around for years, I'm assuming its a bar? Such a weird location, what type of people hang out there? -- any friendly neighborhood folk?

Edited by AmericanPsycho
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My frustration really gets the best of me when folks try to equate Westbury with Fondren Southwest as far as crime and liveability. And these are typically folks who don't know jack about Westbury or have heard from friends.

I agree until we can get Antonelli and his group booted from WS there is a perception problem. But we keep fighting. The COH has been after him since Cathy Whitmire's days in office. He just seems to have the ability to not do anything. Hopefully with Clutterbuck and White we can finally get the place demolished. I've contacted El Franco Lee's office (our County Commissioner) and there is absolutely zero interested in helping Westbury. He inherited this area when Tom Delay's henchmen in Austin redrew the legislative boundaries a few years back.

If you ever need to get hold of Clutterbuck the best way to do so is via her aids Barbara or Tim. I've never had a problem getting through to her when I contact them first. In fact usually Tim can get things done easier than Clutterbuck can. You know what they say about political assistants, they typically have more power than the politicians. :-)

The centerette buildings are to all be demolished. If you look at the block bounded by W. Bellfort/Chimney RockCedarhurst/Moonlight, the only buildings that will be left standing will be the AutoZone and Pizza Hut. Gas station, strip center facing W. Bellfort, strip center facing Cedarhurt (with the washteria), old gas station, and the 2 story brick building on Chimney Rock.....all to be demolished. Evidently Pizza Hut and AutoZone own their parcels of land is why they are not involved.

The theatre needs to do more to get the community involved. They could advertise in the Westbury Crier (our monthly newsletter) and post to the Westbury yahoo group if they would only contact someone. I can tell you in 14 years I've never seen one single advertisement or any inclination by them to let residents know what is going on. I would almost be afraid to go into the building knowing how badly it is maintained. The walls or ceiling might collapse due to rotten wood or something.

As for the Cozy Corner. Yes it is a very interesting place. And yes it is a bar. There was a Houston Chronicle article about it a year or so ago. I can't find the link but I know it is there. They've put the porch on it recently to accomodate smokers. I'm not sure it is legally meeting the city ordinance or 25 feet from the entrance. My understanding is that Friday night is karaoke night. Never been myself. I am allergic to smoke and I'm pretty sure the place still reeks of smoke even now that you can't smoke inside. Not sure how it stays in business with the church just a few feet away. I thought there was a state or city or both law about alcohol service within X feet of a church. I know Vien Thai (Thai restaurant on Long Point) in Spring Branch can't get a liquor license because of the church in the same strip center. All persuassions of folks are welcome. I've heard on weekend nights there are a lot of gay/lesbian couples from the neighborhood there hanging out. And no it's not some gay/lesbian pick-up bar for those of you weird conservative folks who think "oh no the gays want me or are going to molest me" everytime they hear gays go someplace.

Glad a couple of folks are following the discussion. If you've got other questions or comments post them. I check here about once a day.

Yes, thank you. DrFood for all of the updates. I understand your frustration with people spreading rumors about the crime in Westbury. However, I can't fully blame people for thinking this. When people drive by and see WS, and all run down junk we have around, its only natural to assume the worst. That's why it's so important to get this stuff out of here. I hope Clubberbuck gets on the ball, I was never able to get a hold of her a couple of years ago, so far I'm not impressed.

Does the closing of the Centrette include getting rid of the boarded up area that used to be a rehab center, and I think a laundry place?

The theater is an interesting group, they basically seem to get by on word of mouth. I've been meaning to go see some shows over there, some of them are pretty good. I agree that they could do more to get to know the residents as to not appear snobbish.

Lastly, what's the deal with the Cozy Corner, that is next to the old Post Office. That place has been around for years, I'm assuming its a bar? Such a weird location, what type of people hang out there? -- any friendly neighborhood folk?

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Update on Westbury Square legal case.

City Attorney informed civic club the case has been moved to sometime between July 27 and August 7.

I don't have the details, when I do I will let y'all know.

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Hello. I am new to this forum. I Googled Westbury Square and found this site and was thrilled to read so many posts from several years back now on the topic. I haven't seen WS since going there as a child and am sad to see that it has deteriorated. I remember going there from '70 to '76 (I was five in '70) when my parents decided we needed a bigger house (hence we moved to Fleetwood on Memorial off of Highway 6 - what a culture shock that was). If memory serves me, wasn't there a little shop that sold imports from Holland in WS? I still have a pair of earrings from that store that I have kept all these years. I think there was also a candy store? I remember the glass store. Wish I could remember the names of these places.

This is somewhat off topic, but I have also been trying to research a place that I remember going to as a kid in elementary school. I grew up on the edge of West U on Bissonnet right across the street from the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in a row of townhomes there. I attended West U Elementary and I remember going on field trips to a place that I think was called "The People's Place of Houston" - my closest comparison of it would be a mini-Epcot inside a building with different "countries" that we kids visited to learn about their culture. If anyone can confirm this for me, I would love it and if I am not off base, would love to hear any stories you have about it that might help jar my memory.

My mom passed away recently and I began making notes of things that I fondly remember as a child and these places are some of those wonderful memories.

Look forward to checking back for more info.

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....Not sure how it stays in business with the church just a few feet away. I thought there was a state or city or both law about alcohol service within X feet of a church....

I imagine because the Cozy Corner was there years before the church. The Cozy Corner

has been there since the 60's. I never gave it much thought, but I'm guessing the

church came along in maybe the late 80's at the earliest. Might have been in the 90's.

So obviously the church knew what they were getting before they moved in.

I used to go to Cozy Corner some in the 80's or so.. Along with Classic Era which

was in between Bull and Anchor and China Cottage in the square.

But it was a totally different crowd from what is there now.

Cozy Corner has always been fairly quiet as far as bars go. I bet

they have had very few police calls over the years compared to some

other places. So I don't think they have had many complaints from

the neighbors around that area.

The Cozy Corner is one of the oldest businesses in Westbury I bet.

It's up there on the list anyway..

It was there when I moved here in 69, and wasn't brand new even then.

They have had a few owners through the years, but it's always been open

all through those years basically unchanged. Except for the porch, which

I hadn't even noticed yet, it's not a lot different than it was 40 years ago.

I doubt you will see me there much.. I rarely go to bars any more..

Heck, I rarely drink any more.. I might toss back a couple of cold ones

when I'm up at my get-away place up at Lake Eufaula OK, but that's about it.

Up there, I'm out in the woods, so if I start barking at the moon, no one can

hear me.. :rolleyes:

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If memory serves me, wasn't there a little shop that sold imports from Holland in WS? I still have a pair of earrings from that store that I have kept all these years.

Probably the "Holland House Import Co." listed above.

Welcome to the forum!

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Unfortunately I did not make it to the Civic Club meeting last night. Hopefully there would have been some discussion about the court date of Westbury Square. Also, an FYI for folks in Westbury. There are evidently plans for the shopping center on the SW corner of W. Airport and Chimney Rock. There is supposed to be a variance sign being erected by the city. The owner of the center was supposed to be at the civic club meeting last night to discuss the plans.

If I find anything out on this I will let the group know.

And thanks for listing sevfiv. Wow, brings back some memories of when life was simpler.`

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Hello. I am new to this forum. I Googled Westbury Square and found this site and was thrilled to read so many posts from several years back now on the topic. I haven't seen WS since going there as a child and am sad to see that it has deteriorated. I remember going there from '70 to '76 (I was five in '70) when my parents decided we needed a bigger house (hence we moved to Fleetwood on Memorial off of Highway 6 - what a culture shock that was). If memory serves me, wasn't there a little shop that sold imports from Holland in WS? I still have a pair of earrings from that store that I have kept all these years. I think there was also a candy store? I remember the glass store. Wish I could remember the names of these places.

This is somewhat off topic, but I have also been trying to research a place that I remember going to as a kid in elementary school. I grew up on the edge of West U on Bissonnet right across the street from the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in a row of townhomes there. I attended West U Elementary and I remember going on field trips to a place that I think was called "The People's Place of Houston" - my closest comparison of it would be a mini-Epcot inside a building with different "countries" that we kids visited to learn about their culture. If anyone can confirm this for me, I would love it and if I am not off base, would love to hear any stories you have about it that might help jar my memory.

My mom passed away recently and I began making notes of things that I fondly remember as a child and these places are some of those wonderful memories.

Look forward to checking back for more info.

Prob. way before my time, I was born in 83'. But I would be really curious about the mini Epcot-esque place you speak of was -- anyone have a clue?

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Prob. way before my time, I was born in 83'. But I would be really curious about the mini Epcot-esque place you speak of was -- anyone have a clue?

I was teaching in the 5th ward in the early and mid 70s and there was an elementary school near the area, I believe it was Anson Jones, that had a multi-cultural center that was set up for elementary field trips for young students from all over HISD to learn about cultures from around the world. I think they also had teachers of different ethnicities there to guide and inform the students about their particular cultures. Could this be what you remember?

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I'm not sure if I've posted this information here before, but here's the 1976 listing for Westbury Square:

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hey thanks for the westbury square history. my dad had a shop there in the clock tower back in the late 80's. as i recall at that time they were trying to revitalize the square and made him a sweet deal on sqaure footage. i remember the couple from holland, they used to give chocolate bars to my son, who was around 2 at the time. there was a father & son tailor/menswear place called "cromwell's", they customized suits. also the red school, tuesday morning, a community theater and unfortunately quite a bit of empty space. my dad's business was called "collector's showcase, his business was movie memorabilia, original movie posters, lobby cards, stills and rare lp's, 45's & 78's. he shared the space with a card dealer who sold rare and new sports cards and collectibles. unfortunately the square never quite made a comeback at that time and we had to relocate. my dad's original location was the outskirts of the village, bissonnet & greenbriar, i think where "murder by book" later went in.

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The movie reel and it's jazz number, Kitirik & the Batmobile (Pow, Zap, Bamm) are what I remember the most.

BTW, did you notice the cat drinking out of the fountain? (I'm a details person). ;)

Nice collage.

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  • 4 weeks later...
The BBQ place east of the tracks was called Mels, I believe. Burger King has come up quite a bit in this thread. now here is a question. Sometime before or after Burger King was built, the Walgreens building at Willowbend and Post Oak had a very similar resturant next door to it. It was not there that long but did have a sandwich I believe was called a Yumbo with ham in it. I know what the name of this place was. Does anyone else know. I know LunaticFringe knows, so don't answer :unsure:

See you at Rumplheimers...

I wish I could remember the name of the place next to Walgreens. I can't. I do remember that Walgreens expanded into that space.

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This is somewhat off topic, but I have also been trying to research a place that I remember going to as a kid in elementary school. I grew up on the edge of West U on Bissonnet right across the street from the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in a row of townhomes there.

Wow small world. My family used to rent at the Belmont Apartments that were a stone's throw from the Coca Cola place. They were right behind the red brick apartments that were built around 1992 on the Bissonnet side. I lived there between 1995-1997 and they rented a 2 bedroom 1 bath for $525 with a shaded parking space and all bills paid. Those were good times. The area was super nice and clean plus the lawns and trees were huge in that property. These days a similar apartment in that 77005 zip code costs well over $1500 and you pay your own bills while living in a cramped space where you see just concrete and walls when you look out your window.

The Belmont apartments were torn down in 1997 not from a lack of maintenance but the sale of the property. A giant retirement place sits on the land now and they cut down all of the trees.

Do you remember that Mercedes/BMW/Porsche repair shop on the Coca Cola side of the street about a block up to the east on Bissonnet? It had been there for at least 20 years but I recently drove past that area and saw that a restaurant called "Mateo's" has gone up.

I've been in Houston about 30 years and the townhomes are exactly the same as they always have been.

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Fond memories of Corkies. Even though it was not around very long. They had the great thin sliced ham sandwich with hot melted cheese. Around Christmas of 67 or 68 Walgreens had a display of 3 or 4 minibikes right after you checked out. Next to the wall on the way to the exit door. Never was so excited to go to a Walgreens when they had those up for sale. If memory serves correct right across the steet was a mini strip mall with a bunch of different businesses. Catycorner or behind the Esso station. I used to get haircuts there for 4 bits or so at a place that had a real revolving red, white and blue barber pole. A couple shops down was a slot car track place where we would go to race on the weekends.

Corkies for sure was feeling the heat from Burger King and Jack both close by.

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This thread is awesome. I lived at 5611 Cartagena from '88-'98 (8-18 years old). I had no idea I lived next to an old airport. We used to ride our bikes to Westbury Square all the time. By the time I came around it was mostly empty, which made it seem like an abandoned ruin for us to explore. We used to try and get into the deserted buildings. The hill that led down to the sunken parking lot was great to ride down in a flat city like Houston. In the late '80s there was a comic book shop (I think that's what it was) that would give free Garbage Pail Kids cards to kids on Halloween. I have a friend that bought a house on Cartagena a few houses down from my old house so I go back every once and a while. A friend of mine and I have been talking about going to the Cozy Corner since high school but we still haven't done it yet. When we were kids we would run through one door and out the other just for the thrill of it since they always left the doors open. Good times.

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matt79 wrote: "in the late '80s there was a comic book shop (I think that's what it was) that would give free Garbage Pail Kids cards to kids on Halloween."

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yes the comic store "roy's collectors showcase" belonged to my father roy bonario and his partner, randy franklin, a card dealer. my dad would buy, sell & trade comics, carried one of a kind movie posters, all kinds of movie memorabilia and an extensive collection of music from the 20's all the way to the 70's.

the westbury square merchants association planned several special events throughout the year, always emphasizing children and family, with good merchant participation. our business handed out the cards and bags of candy to any child wearing a costume. i also kept some face paint crayons in case a child showed up minus a costume so i could offer one in a pinch. kids went from business to business, "trick or treating, it was sad that by then several of the stores were empty, but i recall many happy kids. at christmastime and easter, the westbury square's company onstage would set up plays & programs with the little red school. often these productions would be held outdoors, they were free and almost all served refreshment which made them popular.

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I used to live on Benning St. off of S. Post Oak back in 1988. Totally 1988, from January to November.

There was a comic book shop in Westbury Square where I used to get my fix of New Teen Titans, Justice League of America, Avengers and back issues of Miracle Man that year. The guys who ran it seemed to get familiar with me for a short while though I don't remember their faces anymore. They pretty much knew what I wanted when I came in.

That was a very interesting set-up that I recall of Westbury Square but it felt so abandoned. It's a shame that it couldn't be re-habbed.

Edited by worldlyman
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Nice pics of Burger King(never seen one that old)

Here is a pic of how the S. Post Oak Burger King looked like when I grew up. Forget the snow :) Still remember buying cigarettes for my dad for 35 cents from the machine in the dining room. Back then they would undo the top of the cellophane wrapping and slip in a Burger King book of matches. Yea, believe it or not the entire dining room would be filled with kids eating lunch with most of the adults puffing away on a Saturday afternoon. Never bothered me growing up.

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