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Sharpstown, Houston
Sharpstown is a master-planned community in the Southwest Management District (formerly Greater Sharpstown), Southwest Houston, Texas. It was one of the first communities to be built as a master-planned, automobile centered community and the first in Houston. Frank Sharp (1906–1993), the developer of the subdivision, made provisions not only for homes but also for schools, shopping and recreation areas. While this model has been duplicated countless times in the past fifty years, at the time it was quite revolutionary, attracting national media attention. The development was dedicated on March 13, 1955.
The residential architecture in Sharpstown consists of post–World War II bungalows, modern and traditional homes. The materials used in building these homes were of sound quality and have withstood the wear and tear of the baby boomer generation as well as the test of time.
Sharp donated a 300-foot-wide strip of land through the development to the state of Texas for construction of the Southwest Freeway (Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59). This routing ensured easy access from Downtown Houston to homes in the neighborhood, as well as to PlazAmericas (formerly Sharpstown Mall and Sharpstown Center) (1961), Houston's first air-conditioned, enclosed shopping mall.
From the 1980 U.S. Census to the 1990 Census, many African-Americans left traditional African-American neighborhoods and entered parts of Southwest Houston such as Sharpstown. The Hispanic population increased by an amount between 1,000 and 3,500 per square mile. Many Asian-Americans also moved into the Sharpstown area, creating one of the largest concentrations of Asian-Americans in Houston. Glenda Kay Joe, an Asian community leader, said in a 1991 Houston Chronicle article that the Sharpstown Civic Association and the Southwest Advocate newspaper opposed Asian-American settlement in Sharpstown. According to Joe, once Sharpstown residents became accustomed with Asian immigrants, the opposition disappeared.
Sharpstown was affected by the Sharpstown scandal. The scandal combined with a set of apartment complexes that became run-down ensured that Sharpstown became a neighborhood surrounded by crime by the mid-to-late 1990s.[citation needed] Crime increased in the 1990s with the deterioration of area apartment complexes.
A 1992 Houston Chronicle article described Sharpstown as "a racially mixed neighborhood with a strong Vietnamese community."
With Sharpstown's close-in location, there is renewed interest in revitalizing the neighborhood. In 2005, median home prices in Sharpstown had roughly doubled since 2000.[citation needed]
In a 2007 Houston Press article journalist John Nova Lomax said "residential Sharpstown never changes" and that "the houses are still decent and the apartments still rotten."
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Sharpstown, Houston
Sharpstown is a master-planned community in the Southwest Management District (formerly Greater Sharpstown), Southwest Houston, Texas. It was one of the first communities to be built as a master-planned, automobile centered community and the first in Houston. Frank Sharp (1906–1993), the developer of the subdivision, made provisions not only for homes but also for schools, shopping and recreation areas. While this model has been duplicated countless times in the past fifty years, at the time it was quite revolutionary, attracting national media attention. The development was dedicated on March 13, 1955.
The residential architecture in Sharpstown consists of post–World War II bungalows, modern and traditional homes. The materials used in building these homes were of sound quality and have withstood the wear and tear of the baby boomer generation as well as the test of time.
Sharp donated a 300-foot-wide strip of land through the development to the state of Texas for construction of the Southwest Freeway (Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59). This routing ensured easy access from Downtown Houston to homes in the neighborhood, as well as to PlazAmericas (formerly Sharpstown Mall and Sharpstown Center) (1961), Houston's first air-conditioned, enclosed shopping mall.
From the 1980 U.S. Census to the 1990 Census, many African-Americans left traditional African-American neighborhoods and entered parts of Southwest Houston such as Sharpstown. The Hispanic population increased by an amount between 1,000 and 3,500 per square mile. Many Asian-Americans also moved into the Sharpstown area, creating one of the largest concentrations of Asian-Americans in Houston. Glenda Kay Joe, an Asian community leader, said in a 1991 Houston Chronicle article that the Sharpstown Civic Association and the Southwest Advocate newspaper opposed Asian-American settlement in Sharpstown. According to Joe, once Sharpstown residents became accustomed with Asian immigrants, the opposition disappeared.
Sharpstown was affected by the Sharpstown scandal. The scandal combined with a set of apartment complexes that became run-down ensured that Sharpstown became a neighborhood surrounded by crime by the mid-to-late 1990s.[citation needed] Crime increased in the 1990s with the deterioration of area apartment complexes.
A 1992 Houston Chronicle article described Sharpstown as "a racially mixed neighborhood with a strong Vietnamese community."
With Sharpstown's close-in location, there is renewed interest in revitalizing the neighborhood. In 2005, median home prices in Sharpstown had roughly doubled since 2000.[citation needed]
In a 2007 Houston Press article journalist John Nova Lomax said "residential Sharpstown never changes" and that "the houses are still decent and the apartments still rotten."