DrFood

Weingarten Realty was famous or is it infamous for their stretching of terms based on the current marketplace. I can remember in the 1970s and into the 1980s that they had several "shopping centers" that they built that had airconditioned hallways that they referred to as "malls". One was Braeswood Square at the corner of N. Braeswood and Chimney Rock in the Meyerland area. This was referred to as a mall but only had an airconditioned hallway between the Walgreen's and Belden's (originally a Weingarten's). You can still see the remants of the "mall/hallway" by the way shops are set back and the pillars where the glass used to be. Another was Beltway Center at Ranchester/Bellaire Blvd. The center was originally anchored by Sage Drug (division of big box discounter Sage Department Stores) and Lewis & Coker. Again it was nothing more than an air conditioned hallway, but was referred to as a "mall". Beltway center has certainly changed from what it was in the early 1970's to today. And I think, someone correct me if I am wrong, that the center at Westheimer/Hillcroft which now house 99 cent only and Office Depot was also one of these air conditioned hallway formats when built. Weingarten also developed this center. I have to agree that a mall should only be referred to as a mall when it is surrounded by parking. But you know how marketers are.....every one of them think they have mad skills to make money by using the terms of the day.

Yes Westchase Center was Westchase Mall until the oil bust of the late 80's. The malls configurations was as follows I am almost positive of. Target anchored the east end. Mall entrance from Target Mall entrance to the right of Target There was a mall entrance in the center of the mall. If I am not mistaken Godfather's Pizza was on the hallway from the center entrance to allow easy access to the parking lot. Randall's, then actually owned by the Onstead family (not Safeway) was the anchor at the other end. A mall entrance to Randall's and then to the left of Randalls. I only remember 2 shops in the mall, a Hallmark card shot by Target and the arcade plus the Godfather's. For some reason I want to say there was a Weiner's and possibly a Gap. The Gap moved to the parking lot pad site in the mid-90's and eventually became Old Navy. The layout was kinda weird because when you exited Target the mall angled at a 45 degree angle. This allowed for stores on both sides of the mall. If I am not midtaken Weingartens has owned the center since its inception. If you look at the layout of the current configuration you can actually see some of the remnants of the old mall layout. http://www.weingarten.com/retail/property/...001_mkt_pkg.pdf Look at item 2. This is a store with no front to the parking lot. It is about where the old storefront would have been for the mall. Also Shoe Carnival and Petco's configuration look like they would be mall related. Now that I think about it there might have also been a Walgreen's in the center which moved across the street to a stand alone building. If that is the case then the mall ended in Walgreen's not Randall's possibly. My dad used to work at Dresser center and could help me remember more. I'll have to ask my family to help my memory.

There are multiple plots if you look at the map on HCAD. Use 5425 West Bellfort as a starting point.

Again, the problem with Westbury Square is that the owner has no desire to fix the place up. I've lived in Westbury since 1994. The Westbury Civic Club and COH have been working to get the problem fixed. The problem is the absentee owner. There's more to the story about the current owner but I won't type it in public forums because who knows who reads these things. Last year before Ike the COH gave the guy 30 days to fix up the property. There was a public hearing where I believe all member of City Council and the Mayor and if I recall about 20 folks from Westbury showed up and the owner was told fix it or we will. Then Ike hit. I drive by the square 2x a day as I have for the past 14 years. I've seen it go from a mess to a bigger mess. There are some plans on paper to bulldoze the square and the shopping center w/99 cent only. The discussions included the following. 1. Building a Harris County Library on the site. 2. Building a new fire station to replace the one on Chimney Rock. 3. Build a small police storefront 4. HEB has wanted to build a large format store since they closed the Pantry back in the late 90's (now 99 cent only). They are still interested. 5. Build some combination retail/loft style apartments or condos. 6. Tie Home Depot into a shopping village. 7. Petsmart and Petco have both expressed a desire to have a store in the area. Ideal location. I don't remember the rest of the plans that were discussed, but all that needs to happen is bulldoze the square and progress can happen. There are plans there, we just have to figure out how to get the COH to move the current land owner.

Ran across some images related to Meyerland, not sure they are here or not. New (Ed Wulfe) General Cinema. Note the Meyerland "steeple" was located on the theatre. Now is located down by the day spa. http://www.sunbuildersco.com/Projects/Gene...eral_cinema.htm Here is a photo of the Original Cinema I, II & III. Weird angle but you get the gist. http://www.cinemahouston.info/multicinema.htm A diagram I found on a mall blog http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AcUdTl7Aq-s/SHfy...d+plan_1971.jpg In this diagram the #1 is in fact what became Palais Royal. Prior to JCP building their new store (current building) JCP occupied the space that is Palais Royal in the drawing. Palais Royal was in the spot to the right of #2 Lews Records. It became Walter Pye's when PR moved. I'm sure I will think of other things, but that is it for now.

I agree about Wally World at MP. I wouldn't let my worst enemy shop that ghetto place. I just wonder how true the rumors I am hearing through folks in the Willow Meadows area are......Wally World is negotiating to buy from the Old Poblanos to Luby's and tear that section of the center down and build a SUPER DUPER Wally World. They also want the theatre parcel as well. I think it is just rumors.....gosh I hope so.

MJ Designs closed in 1998. DAMN I am getting old. Here is the HBJ link http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories...ewscolumn3.html

Knocking on wood the central a/c and heat system are chugging along well. But I am looking at available alternatives to central systems for a 2000 sq ft single story house built in 1959. Have any of you had any experience converting from a central system to a ductless system? I've done enough research to know my interest in picqued. I wonder how if would work in our August/September sauna days. Any advice/feedback/comments are appreciated.

What amazes me is that Chicago's blue line seems to work quite well down the center of the Kennedy Expressway from O'Hare to almost downtown where it dips underground. No reason on earth Metro could not put light rail down all freeways and stations with bus service connected to the rail. Didn't TxDOT and Williams Brothers agree to pour extra concrete and install extra steel in the expanded Katy for rail? Metro gave money for it. And HCTRA agreed in X timeframe to give the HOT/HOV lanes over to Metro for rail. Of course by the time HCTRA decides how much to rip folks off for tolls on a federally funded highway folks will forget about the rail deal. Here's a fairly simple plan for rail service serving Houston. Light rail serves locations inside a circle with a radius equal to Hwy 6/1960 on West/SW/NW/North. Concentric circles connected by spokes of the freeways and major arterries. Commuter rail serves locations to a radius approximating Victoria/Brenham/College Station/Huntsville/Cleveland/Galveston/Beaumont (although on Beaumont I am not sure the best eastern termination). Follow the major freeways. The entire system based on concentric circles and hub/spoke system. Right now we have a Metro board run by developers. Why is Ed Wulfe on it? It is nothing but self-serving business men. Shirley Delibrio had her fault but she was a transportation person with experience. Who the heck is that person now?

Several additional points about Meyerland Old School vs Ed Wulfe Meyerland 1. The entire shopping center was demolished except JC Penney and a portion of the ramped 2nd floor delivery system. You can see the ramp between Penney's and Target. So the H&P/Kroger/Antique/Empty grocery store was completely demolished to make room for new construction. 2. The Meyerland State Bank building is still there. It became InterFirst Bank, then RepublicBank, then NCNB, then Nation's Bank, then B of A. Then B of A took a pad site with the redevelopment and left it to become Compass. I believe it is now a BBVA Compass bank (guess who BBVA is? A Spanish banking corporation). Editorial Comment--Why did the bank change names 3 times in the 80's? Dang Republican scally wags screwing up the banks & S&L's....whoda thought they could do it 2x in 20 years. 3. The original movie theatre...General Cinema I & II which became I, II & III (they split the larger of the 2 theatres into 2 theatres to make 3) was torn down to make room for the new movie theatre. I think it was an 8-plex (correct number?) owned by General Cinema. If my memory serves me correctly there are 2 reasons the new theatres were demolished. First, I remember reading that the foundation was shifting causing structural problems. Second, General Cinema went belly up and no one wanted to move into the complex. They then replaced the Cinema w/the section beginning with Circuit City out to the street. You'll notice a difference in the sidewalk elevation. 4. The location of 24-hour fitness was originally a JC Penney Auto Center. They even sold gasoline there. It then became a Firestone after Penney's got out of the auto center business. A concept similar to Michael's hobby was in the 24-hour oriinally, but they went belly up and 24 hour took it over and did MAJOR work like the pool. 5. The location of the Chik Fil A was a Gulf gas station which then became a Chevron station after Chevron took over the Gulf locations. It was torn down as part of Ed's redevelopment. 6. There were no original pad sites except for the remote post office near Beechnut & 610 where LaMadeleine and Escalente is now. Other than that the parking lot was all parking. 7. The concrete pad on the west side of JC Penney which is parking (closest to the entrance by Catalog). Was originally the JCP Lawn & Garden center. They sold everything from lawn equipment to plants to soil to fertilizer to hoses. If I recall it was sometime in the mid-80's when Penney's exited lawn & garden. It might have been earlier or later, but not much. 8. For the newbies here. Target's structure was originally built as a Venture. A K-Mart knock-off out of Chicago I believe. They had the crappiest customer service and even worse merchandise. They then went out of business and K-Mart took over the stores. Talk about going from worse to worser :-) Then K-Mart vacated the Houston market and the building stood vacant until Target finally took it over. They pretty much gutted and modified the structure. However, if you notice when you walk into Target and turn right to walk in front of the registers the flooring looks rough and crappy. That is a result of the original foundation from Venture. I've talked to Target district folks and they want to redo the floor, but right now they will wait until the store is reset to a new design in a couple of years. I hate going into that store because it is so filthy dirty. Plus every time I go in there I find 1/2 eaten groceries scattered around the store. I'd rather go to Super Target on S. Main or Sugar Land. (sorry I digress) 9. And the space above Borders was a Planet Music. This was also a K-Mart owned enterprise. I never understood the layout of having a cramped borders and an upstairs music store. I guess that is why the place never has been leased out successfully. Another piece of trivia. The piece of land across the street from Chik-Fil-A (where the 2 strip centers with Mens Warehouse and the vacant Chinese restaurant) were originally an Exxon Auto Care Center. If I recall it had 4 service bays. It was a very nice and very large gas station/complete service center. But the a gas station did not fit into the redevelopment.

The Henke & Pilot (Kroger) was in a large section of Meyerland that faced the loop. It was approximately where Wolf Camera and that corner of the new shopping center is now. That is just an approximate location it might have actually been a bit further south where the parking lot is now. I would have to see an overlay of the old aerial shots with the new aerial shots to be a bit more accurate. Yes, H&P (Kroger) left the store I believe in the late 70's or early 80's. It was multiple things after that. I remember it was at one time an antique mall. So I am sure it was used for some Sci-Fi even also. The sad thing about Meyerland is that it was ahead of it's time but allowed itself to get behind the times. The ideal of a walking outdoor mall is exactly what everyone is trying to emulate now. Although First Colony and the Pearland mall have it a bit messed up. You don't need a boulevard and pull in parking in front of the shops. With the number of air conditioned malls dying it will be interesting to see how many more shopping villages spring up in the old mall locations. When Ed Wulfe rebuilt Meyerland he had good intentions, just should have rebuilt it as a strolling village rather than a driving village.

The grocery store in Meyerland was a Henke & Pilot. H&P was a locally owned company that was bought out by Kroger in either the late 60's or early 70's. I remember going to this store as a kid. It was huge. There was an A&P at Beechnut and Bissonet and one in Bellaire where the HEB is today. But the best grocery store ever in SW Houston was Sacco Bros. We need a thread on Sacco's.

Nah, the folks in the exurb of Katy need to learn to lighten up. That's what happens when a too many neo-con Republicans live in a single zip code. They forget how to not take themselves so seriously.

Need suggestions/advice on finding a company to install a 75ft section of cedar fence that was damaged by Ike. I've been trying to find someone who is reliable and will provide references and a written estimate on replacing the fence that was damaged by Ike. I've tried every major fence company in Houston. Their estimates were ridiculous (over $2500 total) and they would not be able to provide the new fence for 3-4 months. Same excuse given multiple times. Then I go to individuals who are on Craigslist or with signs, they can't or won't provide references or written estimates. Is it that difficult these days to get someone to replace a cedar fence? Here is what I am looking for. Demo 75ft old fence. This includes removing the old posts from the ground. Replace the old fence with a new 75ft of 8ft high cedar dog ear pickets. Haul off the old fence or stack it in front yard if I can schedule the installation to coincide with heavy trash. I would prefer to have cedar or metal posts. Every fence in the area that i have seen since Ike that used pressure treated posts the posts warped and twisted. Not good. I've got the cash from the insurance claim so all I have to do is find someone to do it for a reasonable price and reasonable quality. Thanks.

20'sgirl....unfortunately or for us Westbury residents, fortunately it appears the remnants of Westbury Square may be leaving us soon. Last nite when I was driving home I noticed that the power had been cut to the entire set of buildings along W. Bellfort. I do not believe there is any activity currently takign place businesswise or residentwise in the square. Thank goodness for Ike, he might have finally gotten rid of the eyesore.

The thing that amazes me is how many discussions there are on HAIF about Sharpstown. Folks seem to be obsessed with beating a dead horse to death.....and that horse that is being beaten is Sharpstown as a whole. The heart of each discussion seems to be the mall. Well if that is the impetus to get a fix started, then someone buy the mall demolish it and do something good with the land and surrounding property. I am a native Houstonian and my family moved into 1 of the first houses built by Vista Homes in 1966 just west of Gessner and Beechnut (for the first 11 years of my life we lived in Braeburn Terrace). My dad commuted everyday along Hillcroft to Westheimer until we moved to Sharpstown so I was able to watch Sharpstown grow from the original sales office at Hillcroft/Bellaire (torn down and the Citgo Station sits on that location now). I watched them build Sharpstown Mall. I watched them extend the SW Freeway out from 610 to Hillcroft to Beechnut to Bissonett and further out. I attended Pat Neff in 1/2 of 4th grade and all of 5th grade. I was in the first 6th grade class of Ed White Elementary and in the first 7th grade class of then Sharpstown Jr./Sr. High School (Now Sharpstown Middle School). My folks still live in the house they purchased brand new in 1966. I own a home in Westbury near Hillcroft/W. Bellfort (14.5 years now). And FYI Westbury is not a hot bed of crime as some on here would have you believe. I've been on the civic club board and know the crime statistics for the area.....we are not a hot bed of crime. I think I can speak expertly as someone who knows Sharpstown and the surrounding area. Much moreso than yankees who moved in during the late 70s and 80s. And the folks who moved in after the oil bust because you could get a house for cheap. There is a simply solution to Sharpstown. 1. Demolish the apt and townhomes along Gessner, Beechnut, Ranchester, Town Park, and along Bellaire Blvd and the area around Jane Long and the old Sharpstown General Hospital. Replace them with single family homes. If you look at areas like Meyerland and Maplewood that have single family homes along major streets you will not see the crime and "ghetto" influence. What do you do with the folks who live in the demolished properties. Create apartment communities where you have zoned building and building codes. Heck put them on the site of Sharpstown Mall. If you create an apartment enclave and provide services such as transportation and shopping within walking distance you will have a more urban like setting similar to Chicago or NYC. You haven't kicked the apt dwellers out of Sharpstown, you've simply managed housing in a more efficient manner. I cannot think of any city in North America or Europe that has successfully integrated apartments into single family home neighborhoods as we keep trying to do here in Houston. 2. Demolish all of the old run down retail like Target on 59 and K-Mart on 59 and Sam White Olds (no long Sam White) and create some green space along the freeway. We don't need all the land paved over. Make Sharpstown a green community. 3. Create a zone similar to the Heights where you have mandatory deed restrictions and homeowners covenants. 4. Run light rail down Bellaire Blvd or Beechnut run it N-S on Hillcroft and Gessner. Reclaim some of the green space that once was esplanades. Again make Sharpstown greener. 5. Get the churchs involved in the rebirth. I went to Sharpstown Baptist and they just celebrated their 50th anniversary. I didn't even find out about it until after the fact. Churchs in Sharpstown site on huge chunks of land and can be a pillar to the community. They were when I was growing up. Now most of them are barely hanging on financially and have to host multiple congregations just to maintain a physical plant. I have yet to see anyone address the chunk being lost directly across the street from the mall....what happens with the Circuit City building? Let's hope a dubz shop or another carnecaria move in. I disagree 100% with the comparison of Memorial City and Sharpstown. No way can you ever equate the 2. Memorial City Mall simply suffered from neglect and a poor management. They never had ghettos and criminals living within close proximity. You never had "grillz" shops in Memorial City. But you did have a hospital and a property management company come in and decide to make the area a focal point for the city. Unfortunately Memorial Herman and even HBU are simply too far from the current mall site to make a difference in Sharpstown Mall. As I've said on numerous posts about Sharpstown. I refuse to visit my folks after dark. The area is simply too unsafe for me to be driving around. And I don't say this lightly. I will walk or drive around Chicago, NYC, Miami, DC, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Berlin, Tokyo, Sydney at any time of the day or night and I never feel unsafe. And I will drive around Houston at all hours of the day EXCEPT Sharpstown. Fondren Southwest is safer than Sharpstown. I get gas at W. Airport and Fondren at all hours of the day, never feel unsafe. I shop at Fiesta and Walgreens on Fondren. Never feel unsafe. But I do not feel safe at CVS at Gessner/Beechnut except in full daylight. It's going to take a visonary person to fix Sharpstown by leading a group of folks.

Thanks for the responses. I priced the materials for running the gas lines at Lowes and it is less than $100. I can do it myself. I can also cut the holes for the heaters myself. Thanks for the info on the place in the Heights. I will look into it. Not sure why the in wall gas heaters would be against code. There are a number of houses in Westbury and Meyerland that have had major (read gutted) bathroom remodels and the owners reinstall the gas heaters and pass inspection. We don't really want to go with electric. Gas is much cheaper and much more efficient than electric ever will be. As for running new vents myself. I'm not one to cut into HVAC systems. Knowing my luck it would get screwed up and everything would be out of balance. But like I said $700 for 2 simple vent runs of about 10 feet seems extremly expensive.

My SO and I live in Westbury and for some reason the builder did not put in one of those gas heaters in the 2 bathrooms. Nor did they install vents to the bathrooms. We've gotten estimates from 4 HVAC companies to run vents to the bathrooms and they are in the $700-800 range. Completely stupid pricing we think. It is a max 10 foot run from the plenum to the bathrooms. Summer A/C temps are not an issue, its the cold in the winter. So to solve our winter temperature problem we have thought about installing gas wall heaters. The problem is finding them in good shape. Does anyone have any suggestions on where we might find a couple and any idea of price? We will do the install ourselves to save the install price a plumber would charge. Thanks.

20s Girl, I don't think you offended anyone. You state facts that some don't want to hear/read. I agree 100% with you about Sharpstown after dark. I beg my parents not to leave the house except for an emergency anytime after the street lights come on. It is far too dangerous to drive Beechnut/Gessner/Bellaire Blvd/Fondren and even Hillcroft after dark. There are too many thugs and crazies out there who want nothing more than to steal you blind or even kill you. Best thing for folks to remember about Sharpstown is until you get rid of the apartments, you won't ever be safe.

Apollopride I wonder if we went to the same church? A group of us was known for skipping out on Sunday's both morning and evening. Marie Calendar's was great.

Let's split this historically. 1960's to 1990's Best News Anchors--Larry Rasco & Ron Stone (Channel 2), Steve Smith & Marlene McClintoch (Channel 11), Dave Ward (Channel 13) Worst Anchors--Jan Carson, Linda Lorrell, Melanie Lawson, Elma Barrera (better as a reporter than anchor) Best Weather--Doug Johnson PERIOD Worst Weather--Gene Norman (too bad Ch 11 took a risk with him now, and the Norman Number for today is ZERO) Best Sports--Bill Ennis, no one else can touch him. Worst Sports--Bob whats his name w/Ch 13 Best Reporter--Dan O-Rourke hands down Worst Report--TOo many to name Present Best News Anchors--Bill Balleza and Dominique Sachsa hands down. They are not talking heads like the 2 airheads on Ch 11. And poor Dave Ward needs to retire. Half of the time I can't understand a word he says Worst Anchors--Greg and whatever the latest bimbo anchors name is on Ch 11. Dave and whoever is stuck with him on Ch 13. And Ch 26, fire your anchors and run more King of the Hill reruns or something. It is overly painful to watch you folks. Best Weather--Frank Billingsley Worst Weather--2 time looser Gene Norman. Shoulda stayed in Hotlanta. Best Sports--Randy McAvoy and Gif Nielsen tie. Too bad Gif has to put up with the BS at Ch 11. Worst SPorts--Whoever is doing Ch. 13 sports on whatever night. Best Reporter--Frank Billingsley. If you've seen his reports related to Ike, he deserves an Emmy. Worst Reporter--Wayno Dolcho.....if I see one more posed storm shot in 25 mph wind with him acting like the umbrella is gonna blow away I will throw something at my tv. Channel 2 got a lot of guff since the Washington Post folks bought it. But as a native Houstonian of 52+ years I have to say that for the present time Channel 2 seems to have gotten its act together moreso than the rest of the players. The Hurricane Ike coverage by 2 has been outstanding....no fear mongering, no sensationalism, they have been very educational and (I hate to say it this way) but neighborly. I grew up in a house where you were not allowed to watch anything except Channel 2 news and NBC nightly news. In the early 1990's I started watching Ch 11 because of Steve Smith and the departure of Ron Stone and Doug Johnson. When they hired the 2 talking heads on Ch 11 and ran Dr Neil off (course he also sunk his own ship when he refused to change the forecast for Rita even though it did change course) I gave up and went to Ch 2. Honestly I think they have the best local news in town (except for the wheel for fortune criminal thing that I still don't understand). Agree or disagree with me....for now I am a Ch 2 fan. Oh yeah, and Eric Berger with the Chronicle. The guy is an amazing science guy and reporter.

Let me address a couple of major points about Westbury based on living here for almost 15 years and growing up in Sharpstown near Beechnut & Gessner. 1. Whether you choose to believe the 25% number or not these are the facts based on a scientifically designed study. And don't forget the US Census Bureau conducted a census in 2000 that also gave a good picture of the area. I can account for a large number of folks personally. 2. Westbury proper has one of the lowest major crime counts in the COH. Take a look at the HPD web site for crime stats. Westbury ends at the north/south drainage ditch about 1 mile west of Hillcroft. The area west of this drainage ditch is called Fondren Southwest. This is the area folks seem to be so scared of when they refer to crime. I will tell you that my partner and I shop the Fiesta and Walgreen's at that intersection. We buy gas for our cars and motorcycles at the Shell or Chevron station there. We have been to Walgreen's at 11:30PM and purchased gas at 2 AM. Never once were either of us afraid for our safety. We were well aware of our surroundings, but we were not paranoid. 3. Each of our neighbors and a number of folks in our neighborhood know we are a committed couple. We walk the dogs and talk to the neighbors. No one has ever made any negative comments. Every GLBT person or couple we know has never encountered any prejudice. 4. The problem with the "Willows" areas is the price of the homes. It's cheaper to get a big house on a large lot in Westbury. 5. You ask about S. Main. Yes, we drive S. Main all the time. Day/Night....weekend.....weekday. Never had a problem. Finally like I told Flipper, unless you live in Westbury or bother to gather facts/figures don't go making prognostications based on your personal feelings or experiences in the 1980's. Or better yet, come to Westbury and let me and some of the other residents here show you around to get the best picture.

I would beg to differ with the folks talking about trenching to Post Oak to 610. Both HCTRA and TxDOT have told the residents of Westbury, Willowbend, Willow Meadows, and S. Post Oak Village that there are no plans to build this connector. HCTRA and TxDOT both agree that in order to handle the extra traffic that 610 through Bellaire and the Galleria would have to be double decked somehow. The folks in Bellaire have a great lobbying friend in our Republican Congressional folks and Republican State Legislators that have vowed to never let this happen. Look at the problems TxDOT have rebuilding 610 through Bellaire a couple of years ago. The latest plans presented to the civic clubs is a simple overpass dumping traffic onto S. Post Oak. This overpass would parallel 90A (S. Main) between the railroad and Willow Waterhole. The concrete recycling plant is in the process of shutting down to accomodate Willow Waterhole build out and a move of the COH garbage facility on S. Post Oak. In addition, Metro is expected to build a rail system along 90A either as heavy rail or light rail with a station at Chimney Rock. This would then become a Park & Ride stop for folks from the Ft. Bend tollway. This would tie into Fannin South via the newly designated transit street of W. Bellfort between 90A and Fannin. A couple of years ago Art Storey (HCTRA) and his group got a thrashing over the whole S. Post Oak thing. I think they realized it wasn't worth the fight for a few years.

No it was not Mark Ellis. It was either John Goodner or Ray Driscoll. Can't remember now. I just know he was significantly unpopular with City Council members from the minority districts. What I remember is that he appeared on television numerous times with maps of Sharpstown and apartments were red for demolishion. His plan was to convert the area bounded by Westpark, Beltway 8, Beechnut, Corporate, Bellaire Blvd, Gessner as an apartment district. It's a weird shaped area, but lots of land. Plus he had a fire station, police substation, library, elementary school, middle school, high school to specifically service the area. It was controversial because no one in Houston had ever proposed something this unique. The remainder of the proposal was keep the apartments behind what used to be Sharpstown General Hospital, and add more where the old Memorial Baptist Hospital was (don't recall the name of the street). He also proposed demolishing all remaining apartments in Sharpstown. Townhomes and duplexes would be demolished where needed based on condition. I think if the COH looked back at this proposal today they would admit that they missed an opportunity to straighten out the mess that they face today....unmaintained rat traps within Sharpstown. And if you further evaluate the opportunity missed you would see homeowners shopping at retail within Sharpstown. One thing I do not understand is how Memorial Southwest has not helped Sharpstown get new homeowners and investors interested in demolishing the old K-Mart and Sam White dealership. Or even get investors to buy up apartments and build minicommunities like Bob Perry and Urban Lofts did inside the loop. GWilson, we do see eye2eye somewhat. You just don't see my passion to fix Sharpstown. I have the same passion to finish fixing Westbury (where I live), I just don't have a civic club who wants to do anything more than landscape the esplanades. We've got the old Westbury Square site that has huge potential. Just need folks with time to work through the legal system to fix it.

What I was referring to was to take and remake Sharpstown by removing current multifamily units from Beechnut, Gessner, Fondren mainly. Replace those with single family homes....how those homes are configured is up to the civic club to determine. When Frank Sharp laid Sharpstown out his intention was for Beechnut, Gessner, Fondren to have homes lining those streets similar to what Sharpstown 1 has. Also Meyerland and Braeburn Terrace/Robindell. I have noting against multifamily units. Some folks just prefer to live in them versus owning a single family home. What I do have a huge problem with is the crime and decay that has blighted Sharpstown via the apartments and multifamily units. Back in the 1990's a member of Houston City Council (I forget his name) tried to get this done but mayor brown didn't like the idea. What I proposed is taking and zoning apartments to a specific geographic region of Sharpstown and provide the facilities they need to be best for the residents. I don't care if the residents make $10K per year or $100K per year or if they are green, purple, white, black, brown or any other race. Apartments and homes don't work together.