Sharpstown Mall/PlazAmericas At 7500 Bellaire Blvd.

[Fringe]

This part still gets me. Sharpstown is simply NOT unsafe. Thinking it is is nothing more than buying in to the rhetoric. The crime stats prove any claims of Sharpstown being unsafe patently false. Between the stats and anecdotal evidence, you simply cannot call Sharpstown unsafe from a logical point of view.

I have two good friends that just moved away from Sharpstown after having lived there since the 70's that would disagree with you. If it's so safe why are burglar bars popping up everywhere? Go by the golf course and ask about the increased vandalism and golf cart thefts. Why the increase in security at HBU? You can have your statistics. Sharpstown is no longer a desirable place to live or shop. At least not for white people.

[Jeebus]

This part still gets me. Sharpstown is simply NOT unsafe. Thinking it is is nothing more than buying in to the rhetoric. The crime stats prove any claims of Sharpstown being unsafe patently false. Between the stats and anecdotal evidence, you simply cannot call Sharpstown unsafe from a logical point of view.

All your stats most likely point to the single family residential dwelling component of Sharpstown. Sharpstown is more than just the actual deed restricted neighborhoods. It also includes all those apartment complexes & strip center store-fronts.

[gwilson]

I have two good friends that just moved away from Sharpstown after having lived there since the 70's that would disagree with you. If it's so safe why are burglar bars popping up everywhere? Go by the golf course and ask about the increased vandalism and golf cart thefts. Why the increase in security at HBU? You can have your statistics. Sharpstown is no longer a desirable place to live or shop. At least not for white people.

I live in Sharpstown, and have lived here for a long time. I disagree with them. There are always people who get spooked. Burglar bars are a product of paranoia and are certainly not exclusive to Sharpstown. You can drive through plenty of neighborhoods, even those considered to be upscale, and find numerous of them. The golf course has ALWAYS had this problem. The increased security at HBU is a pipe dream. It is no different, they just put lights on top of the trucks now. There is a minimally larger presence at night to make people feel safe because of the trash down Fondren at Bissonett (King's Gate). Sharpstown has plenty of upside for people who aren't LOOKING for the bad and aren't paranoid.

All your stats most likely point to the single family residential dwelling component of Sharpstown. Sharpstown is more than just the actual deed restricted neighborhoods. It also includes all those apartment complexes & strip center store-fronts.

They do include, but are not exclusive to SFHs in the area. There is more crime IN the apartments, but even then, it isn't as much as the area is made out to be. The high crime areas are down Fondren in the W. Belfort and Fondren SW areas, Alief, Forum Park and others. These areas border Sharpstown and are primarily responsible for the image of crime in Sharpstown.

[HedwigTramp]

Obviously none of you have been in town long enough to have seen the turnaround at Memorial City. Trust me, all the malingering in the world won't improve an area, no matter how you feel about anybody else.

I have "been in town long enough to have seen the turnaround at Memorial City". And I don't see any comparison between the two malls. Memorial mall is surrounded by very high "disposable income" households. Sharpstown is surrounded by pseudo-ghetto, and middle to upper-middle class neighborhoods. big difference.

Memorial Mall was a no brainer. Complete an upscale remodel and increase security. The locals (yes I am one) took care of the rest. They told their friends who told their freinds...etc.

[Jeebus]

There is a minimally larger presence at night to make people feel safe because of the trash down Fondren at Bissonett (King's Gate).

or the apartments on Fon-Villa, Bimini Condos on Larkwood, That mega complex at Beechnut & Bissonnet (Beechnut Gardens?), or St Charles & St James on Fondren at Wanda, etc etc etc...

They do include, but are not exclusive to SFHs in the area. There is more crime IN the apartments, but even then, it isn't as much as the area is made out to be. The high crime areas are down Fondren in the W. Belfort and Fondren SW areas, Alief, Forum Park and others. These areas border Sharpstown and are primarily responsible for the image of crime in Sharpstown.

My point was that people don't consider just the SFHs in the area as "Sharpstown Proper". All they know is Sharpstown, which includes all the bad elements that bring down the statistically low-crime residential area of Sharpstown-Proper. If anything, Sharpstown-Proper would BEST be benefited from a simple name change to reflect just the single family home residential portion of area. That way there would be a distinct separation between the two, and give the residential area a better chance of autonomy much like Braeburn Valley and Maplewood West/South enjoy.

Edited December 13, 2008 by Jeebus

[N Judah]

Memorial mall is surrounded by very high "disposable income" households.

Yes, you don't even have to go a mile East/SE before it gets very nice. But "surrounded" ? Have you ever been north of Interstate 10?

[Jeebus]

Yes, you don't even have to go a mile East/SE before it gets very nice. But "surrounded" ? Have you ever been north of Interstate 10?

Maybe just immediately north you have a pocket of sub-prime apartment and commercial, but just north of that you have Spring Shadows and Royal Oaks, along with all of Memorial and the reservoir to the west, and Spring Valley to the east.

Its surrounded with more middle/upper-middle class single family homes than sub-prime apartment rentals. That's the key that Sharpstown is missing as the ratio is exactly the opposite.

[N Judah]

Along Bellaire once you cross over 59 is really nice, imho.

Edited December 13, 2008 by N Judah

[Jeebus]

Heading west? I agree. The redevelopment of the Fondren/Bellaire intersection was well done, and from there out you roll into new Chinatown, which I love spending time on.

[N Judah]

No...east. Under 59, on the other side of the freeway from the mall.

Maybe "nice" is the wrong word. But I like it, and only another couple of miles and you're in Bellaire. Anyway, I think Sharpstown's perceived dangerousness is overstated. If I were in charge I'd just turn it into an office park or something and not worry too much about the surrounding area.

Edited December 13, 2008 by N Judah

[Jeebus]

Oh, lol.. the other way. Either way, Bellaire is not too shabby at any point really. Its pretty suburban-ugly once you get to Kirkwood, but for the most part its a solid thoroughfare. Its the streets that run parallel to Bellaire and the streets that intersect and join the two that cause the problems.

[Fringe]

No...east. Under 59, on the other side of the freeway from the mall.

Maybe "nice" is the wrong word. But I like it, and only another couple of miles and you're in Bellaire. Anyway, I think Sharpstown's perceived dangerousness is overstated. If I were in charge I'd just turn it into an office park or something and not worry too much about the surrounding area.

LOL. The part between 59 and the City of Bellaire is the WORST area in Southwest Houston. That's where my friends lived. (Near Long Middle School). That's where half the illegal aliens in Houston live.

Edited December 13, 2008 by LunaticFringe

[gwilson]

LOL. The part between 59 and the City of Bellaire is the WORST area in Southwest Houston. That's where my friends lived. (Near Long Middle School). That's where half the illegal aliens in Houston live.

That isn't Sharpstown really anymore. You are getting in to Gulfton at that point. That side of 59 is trash in general IMO as well.

[Fringe]

That isn't Sharpstown really anymore. You are getting in to Gulfton at that point. That side of 59 is trash in general IMO as well.

I thought Sharpstown went down to Hillcroft. (Wasn't the old Sharpstown Drive-in at Bellaire and Hillcroft?} Definitely gets REAL bad on the other side of Hillcroft. Either way I agree that side of 59 is trash but at one time it was really nice.

[CandW]

For the record, Gulf Gate Mall was the first all indoor air conditioned mall. It has been replaced by Ed Wulfe's development. He is also responsible for the Meyerland Plaza makeover and is currently developing Blvd Place on Post Oak and San Felipe. That's the history lesson today, lol.

As far as Sharpstown Mall goes, I worked on a project a few years ago regarding the vacant big boxes on sight. It was not pretty in the area and I felt very unsafe. I am a product of suburbia and thus when I am in environments like that, I do have a more alert awareness of my surroundings. When I see grown men and women walking the streets during the day in the amount that is there, I have to wonder why they were not at work or at least dressed appropriately enough to be interviewing for a job. Be it at a fast food joint or whatever their qualifications would allow them to apply for. When instead, I see them walking with a "40" towards the multi-family developments in the neighborhoods around the mall and their pants hanging down to their waste. I didn't realize it, but that "gangsta look" came from prisons. Not sure why any person (any race) would want to portray themselves that way. You limit yourself in society. Which brings me to my overall point. The area has been labled as such, which then in turn limits the people that live in those areas to a certain degree of skeptism on the rest of society. They see and know their neighborhoods and that is "the way of life". In order to break that, you have to build up the education in the area, get the churches and civic groups involved, revamp the mall so that people from outside the area want to shop there. The other problem affecting the mall is it's proximity to the Galleria and Meyerland Plaza. The draw from Sugar Land was taken over by First Colony Mall. Why would I drive up to Sharpstown when I can go 5 or 10 minutes from my house in Sugar Land?

[memebag]

For the record, Gulf Gate Mall was the first all indoor air conditioned mall. It has been replaced by Ed Wulfe's development. He is also responsible for the Meyerland Plaza makeover and is currently developing Blvd Place on Post Oak and San Felipe. That's the history lesson today, lol.

As far as Sharpstown Mall goes, I worked on a project a few years ago regarding the vacant big boxes on sight. It was not pretty in the area and I felt very unsafe. I am a product of suburbia and thus when I am in environments like that, I do have a more alert awareness of my surroundings. When I see grown men and women walking the streets during the day in the amount that is there, I have to wonder why they were not at work or at least dressed appropriately enough to be interviewing for a job. Be it at a fast food joint or whatever their qualifications would allow them to apply for. When instead, I see them walking with a "40" towards the multi-family developments in the neighborhoods around the mall and their pants hanging down to their waste. I didn't realize it, but that "gangsta look" came from prisons. Not sure why any person (any race) would want to portray themselves that way. You limit yourself in society. Which brings me to my overall point. The area has been labled as such, which then in turn limits the people that live in those areas to a certain degree of skeptism on the rest of society. They see and know their neighborhoods and that is "the way of life". In order to break that, you have to build up the education in the area, get the churches and civic groups involved, revamp the mall so that people from outside the area want to shop there. The other problem affecting the mall is it's proximity to the Galleria and Meyerland Plaza. The draw from Sugar Land was taken over by First Colony Mall. Why would I drive up to Sharpstown when I can go 5 or 10 minutes from my house in Sugar Land?

1. Sharpstown is a suburb. You sound like a product of a wealthier, whiter suburb.

2. Baggy pants probably aren't the primary reason those folks are limited in the "society" you're thinking of.

[TexasVines]

1. Sharpstown is a suburb. You sound like a product of a wealthier, whiter suburb.

2. Baggy pants probably aren't the primary reason those folks are limited in the "society" you're thinking of.

1. so only wealthy whites have the ability to wear their pants properly and to avoid milling about on major public throughfares with their PJs on, their pants around their ankles, wearing house shoes, and swilling from 40oz bottles of cheap high alcohol beer in the middle of the day when the vast majority of society is working

2. yes it is not the baggy pants.....it is the totally ignorant, mental midget mentality that emulates prisoners which actually allows one to think going around in public with their underwear exposed is a good idea......that holds people back

[gmac]

Instead of pushing for another downtown tract for the proposed Dynamo stadium, I wish the city would encourage AEG to take a look at Sharpstown Mall and its surrounds. It makes sense to locate a soccer stadium there if only due to demographics, but the area offers a lot more than just potential fans.

Access is fairly easy and traffic can flow pretty well through the area, and the attendant smaller businesses that accompany a multi-use stadium would benefit the neighborhood.

I understand that most of you probably hate soccer (commie ball, anyone), and may be as sick as I am of local governments spending money to make team owners even wealthier, but if the stadium is going to get built anyway, I would like to see Sharpstown considered.

Flame away

[hbcu]

Here's the problem....people let these developments come in an area and take everything down with it...did anyone object in the 70s when they built tons of apartment complexes? Look at Fondren Sw, those homes off of West Bellfort behind Picadilly's will never sell for what they are worth due to all the apartments....is there anything on record as to why these wealthy folks allowed so many developments to be built directly across from their homes?

I grew up across the tracks near Hillcroft and the Beltway on the Fort Bend side...one thing I can say is we've successfully avoided multi-family housing options since I've been alive for whatever reason....when new developments come, it's been single family homes

with New Quest buying land at these major intersections, it's makes me nervous but we've avoided it...

however, look at Mission bend, an area people left my neigborhood and Sharpstown for only to be thouroughly dissapointed with...that trend will continue towards the Grand Parkway...

[IronTiger]

My fantasy for Sharpstown Mall is based on solely on light rail.

I feel it can be revived like Mondawmim Mall in Maryland. It was initially an open-air mall in the 1950s with Sears...enclosed in 1971.

Unfortunately, it lost Sears in the early 1970s and went downhill. A Washington DC metro station was installed nearby but the mall declined throughout the 1990s, until in 1999 when the station was remodeled. Now its a bustling center with no connected anchors but a Target and a grocery store nearby

Scroll down to Baltimore's Mondawmim Center here:

http://mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com/2007...01_archive.html

That is what I hope can save Sharpstown.

[MetroMogul]

I've come to realize that I hate veiled racism a bit more than the bare, unadultered kind.

Guys, just say blacks and mexicans. Everyone already knows who you're talking about.

[TexasVines]

I've come to realize that I hate veiled racism a bit more than the bare, unadultered kind.

Guys, just say blacks and mexicans. Everyone already knows who you're talking about.

just because "black and Mexican" pops into your head when you hear stories of areas filled with crime and areas that have been trashed does not mean you have to transfer your guilt about thinking that to the rest of us.....if you hate it being veiled then come right out and admit that is what comes into your mind......or is that what your post was trying to admit

[houstonmacbro]

My fantasy for Sharpstown Mall is based on solely on light rail.

I feel it can be revived like Mondawmim Mall in Maryland. It was initially an open-air mall in the 1950s with Sears...enclosed in 1971.

Unfortunately, it lost Sears in the early 1970s and went downhill. A Washington DC metro station was installed nearby but the mall declined throughout the 1990s, until in 1999 when the station was remodeled. Now its a bustling center with no connected anchors but a Target and a grocery store nearby

Scroll down to Baltimore's Mondawmim Center here:

http://mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com/2007...01_archive.html

That is what I hope can save Sharpstown.

I lived in Baltimore w/in walking distance of Mondawmin Mall ... I do not remember a metro (train) stop there.

[kylejack]

For the record, Gulf Gate Mall was the first all indoor air conditioned mall. It has been replaced by Ed Wulfe's development. He is also responsible for the Meyerland Plaza makeover and is currently developing Blvd Place on Post Oak and San Felipe. That's the history lesson today, lol.

As far as Sharpstown Mall goes, I worked on a project a few years ago regarding the vacant big boxes on sight. It was not pretty in the area and I felt very unsafe. I am a product of suburbia and thus when I am in environments like that, I do have a more alert awareness of my surroundings. When I see grown men and women walking the streets during the day in the amount that is there, I have to wonder why they were not at work or at least dressed appropriately enough to be interviewing for a job. Be it at a fast food joint or whatever their qualifications would allow them to apply for. When instead, I see them walking with a "40" towards the multi-family developments in the neighborhoods around the mall and their pants hanging down to their waste. I didn't realize it, but that "gangsta look" came from prisons. Not sure why any person (any race) would want to portray themselves that way. You limit yourself in society. Which brings me to my overall point. The area has been labled as such, which then in turn limits the people that live in those areas to a certain degree of skeptism on the rest of society. They see and know their neighborhoods and that is "the way of life". In order to break that, you have to build up the education in the area, get the churches and civic groups involved, revamp the mall so that people from outside the area want to shop there. The other problem affecting the mall is it's proximity to the Galleria and Meyerland Plaza. The draw from Sugar Land was taken over by First Colony Mall. Why would I drive up to Sharpstown when I can go 5 or 10 minutes from my house in Sugar Land?

Not everyone owns a car so that they can drive to a hoity toity bar and drink hidden from the prying eyes of others. Some people can't afford that. Some people like to drink a 40. Walking home drinking a 40 does not limit your potential in society, and walking home from the corner store is not a job interview.

[TexasVines]

Not everyone owns a car so that they can drive to a hoity toity bar and drink hidden from the prying eyes of others. Some people can't afford that. Some people like to drink a 40. Walking home drinking a 40 does not limit your potential in society, and walking home from the corner store is not a job interview.

some people can find an excuse for any behavior.....I suppose next you will tell us about people who can't find pants that fit, afford a belt, or have a shirt to wear in public.....much less control their desires to destroy where they live and its surroundings

walking anywhere drinking a 40 in public makes you look like a moron and most people have the self control to wait until they get home before they crack open their cheap booze

I am pretty sure that walking down the street drinking is illegal as well, but not 100% sure....but I am 100% sure it makes you look like a loser

[kylejack]

some people can find an excuse for any behavior.....I suppose next you will tell us about people who can't find pants that fit, afford a belt, or have a shirt to wear in public.....much less control their desires to destroy where they live and its surroundings.

People wear all sorts of ridiculous casual clothes. Its not a very good judge of a man.

walking anywhere drinking a 40 in public makes you look like a moron and most people have the self control to wait until they get home before they crack open their cheap booze

Says who? Says you?

I am pretty sure that walking down the street drinking is illegal as well, but not 100% sure....but I am 100% sure it makes you look like a loser

You may be right about that, but Texas has a lot of dumb blue laws.

[Fringe]

People wear all sorts of ridiculous casual clothes. Its not a very good judge of a man.

Actually it is.

[TexasVines]

People wear all sorts of ridiculous casual clothes. Its not a very good judge of a man.

Says who? Says you?

You may be right about that, but Texas has a lot of dumb blue laws.

there is a vast difference between silly cloths and exposed undergarments....why am I not surprised you don't understand the difference....and yes appearence in public is often a good judge of a person....if you look like a clown you are probably a clown....if you look like a fool you are probably a fool....if you look like you just got down working hard doing construction you probably just got done working hard doing construction

says the vast majority of people who choose to avoid living in areas frequented by people walking down the streets drinking from 40s

and yea....TEXAS is the ONLY place on earth where you can't walk down the street drinking from a 40......we are SO backwards

[kylejack]

What offends you about an undergarment, dear Puritan?

[TexasVines]

What offends you about an undergarment, dear Puritan?

because I don't want to see some fools dirty boxers or some whores thong and I don't think people with kids should have their kids exposed to that......we wear cloths in America as they do in the vast majority (all) of the civilized countries in the world.....even in liberal europe where topless on the beach is acceptable I am sure most would think one is a fool if they walked around with their pants down to their knees especially if they knew it was imitating prison life...obviously the whole "civilization" thing has been lost on you