Construction of the Sharpstown community, the namesake of the district, began circa 1955.[2] The Texas Legislature approved the formation of the Greater Sharpstown Management District in 2005.[3]
On August 20, 2000. Houston METRO provided its first 24-hour bus service from Downtown to Sharpstown Center. However, due to financial difficulties in building light rail, they had to discontinue the 1:35 am, 2:35 am, and 3:33 am eastbound trips. The last trip from Downtown would leave at 1:05 am, and the First trip at Harwin and Reims would start at 4:00 am Effective January 26, 2003. They have not brought back 24 hour service since then.[citation needed]
After Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Louisiana, the zip code 77036 received the largest concentration of Katrina evacuees of any area in the city. 5,991 Katrina evacuees moved into over 2,600 apartment units. Within a wider area, from the 610 Loop to the Houston city limits and from Westpark Drive to U.S. Highway 90A (South Main), 23,000 Katrina evacuees settled there.[4]
On May 31, 2013, the Houston Fire Department suffered its largest casualty in a single event, the Southwest Inn fire, with four firefighters killed and 13 others were injured while fighting a 5-alarm fire at Southwest Inn,[5] located in Greater Sharpstown.[6][7]
Cityscape
The district consists of around 10 square miles (26 km2) of land, bounded by the Westpark Tollway to the north, Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59 and Bissonnet to the south, Beltway 8 to the west, and Hillcroft to the east.[8] I-69/U.S. 59, the Westpark Tollway, and Beltway 8 are the main transit arteries. The main commercial arteries of the district are Bellaire Boulevard and Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59.[2] The management district government estimates that the district is 15 minutes driving time from Downtown Houston.[8]The Galleria, Greenway Plaza, and the Texas Medical Center.[2] The district has about 8,000 single-family houses and 7,000 condominiums and townhouses.[2]
Greater Sharpstown includes the Sharpstown subdivision, the portion of Chinatown inside Beltway 8, a portion of Forum Park, and other nearby subdivisions.[7][9] The district is divided into several zones, including:[10][11]
Chinatown (the portion of Chinatown within Greater Sharpstown)[12]
In 2010 the district announced that it will implement new and distinctly designed street signage to mark the various zones within Greater Sharpstown (replacing the existing standard city of Houston signage); installation began in the late winter of 2011.[17]
KPRC-TV has its studios in Greater Sharpstown.[25] The China Airlines Houston Mini Office (Chinese: 休士顿营业所, Pinyin: Xiūshìdùn Yíngyèsuǒ[26]) is located in 2 Arena Place in the Arena Place complex in Greater Sharpstown.[7][27]
Prior to its dissolution, A.D. Vision, an anime and manga company, was headquartered in Greater Sharpstown.[28][29][7]
Government
Management district
The district headquarters are located in Suite 109 at 9788 Clarewood Drive.[30] The management district is governed by a board of directors, and board meetings are held once every month in the district headquarters.[31]
Municipal government
Mid-West Police Substation
Most of Greater Sharpstown is in Houston City Council District J.[32] District J was created to allow Hispanics to more easily elect representatives who cater to them.[33] Some of it is in city council district F.[34]
The Houston Fire Department operates fire services in Greater Sharpstown, with the primary run area of Fire District 68 covering a lot of territory in Greater Sharpstown.[7][35] Fire stations located within the district boundaries include Station 51 Sharpstown, a part of Fire District 68, and Station 10 Bellaire, a part of Fire District 83.[36] Station 51 opened in 1962. Since then it had two facelifts and a renovation in the financial year of 1999.[37] Station 10, previously located in what is now East Downtown, relocated to its current location in the new Chinatown and in Greater Sharpstown in 1985.[9][38][39] Station 68 Braeburn Glen, adjacent to the district, opened in 1973.[40]
The neighborhood is served by three Houston Police Department patrol divisions. Most areas north and west of U.S. Route 59 are served by the Midwest Patrol Division, while the far western portion of Greater Sharpstown is served by the Westside Patrol Division. Areas south and east of U.S. 59 are served by the Fondren Patrol Division.[41] The portion that is now in the Midwest Patrol Division was formerly in the Westside Patrol Division.[42] The Midwest division operates the Ranchester Storefront along Bellaire Boulevard in the new Chinatown and in Greater Sharpstown.[9][43][44]
The Midwest Patrol Division headquarters are located in a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) building in the district.[43][45] The city purchased the building, a former business college, in November 2007. The operations in the facility began on March 1, 2010. The process of the purchase and renovation was a two-year project.[45] The official grand opening of the station was held on April 27, 2010.[46] The station has 159 police officers and civilians assigned to the patrol division, one investigative first responder (IFR) squad, and two narcotics squads. The facility has available furnished space for two additional investigative squads and 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2) of unfurnished space for future expansion. The building has a room which functions as a public meeting room and an in-service training room which seats up to 80 people. The facility has a gymnasium, a jail lockup for class C prisoners, down rooms for men and women, a break room, a kitchenette, full-sized lockers for the employees, an emergency generator, an ice machine, and hurricane supplies.[45]
The City of Houston Health Department operates the Sharpstown Health Services clinic.[47]
In 2007, the group Neighborhood Centers Inc. announced that it would build the Gulfton Neighborhood Campus at the intersection of Rookin Street and High Star Drive when it raises $20 million.[50] The Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center, the neighborhood center at the intersection in Greater Sharpstown, was scheduled to open in December 2009.[7][51][52]
There are three Alief ISD elementary schools in the district: Best, Audrey Judy Bush, and Collins.[54] Chancellor, Gladys Birdwell Horn, Landis, and Sneed serve other sections of the district; Chancellor has no bilingual students, and the ones in the district go to Sneed instead.[60] For intermediate school Alief Middle, Budweig, Klentzman, and Owens serve sections of the district; Alief Middle does not have bilingual students, and they go to Owens instead.[61] Middle schools serving sections include Alief Middle, O'Donnell, and Olle.[62] For senior high school Alief ISD residents are randomly assigned to Alief Elsik, Alief Hastings, or Alief Taylor high schools.[63]
YES Prep Public Schools has its headquarters in Greater Sharpstown.[7][64] In addition YES Prep operates YES Prep Gulfton (originally YES Prep Lee),[65] YES Prep West,[66] and YES Prep South at the Revolution Campus in Greater Sharpstown.[7][67]
Harmony Public Schools also has its headquarters in Greater Sharpstown.[68] In addition, it has Harmony Science Academy High School, which was ranked in the top ten schools in the Greater Houston area by Children at Risk, and the Harmony School of Innovation in Greater Sharpstown.[69][70]Girls and Boys Preparatory Academy, a charter school, was in Greater Sharpstown.[71]
^"Contact the Board." MetroBank. Retrieved on December 27, 2010. "Corporate Secretary MetroCorp Bancshares, Inc. 9600 Bellaire Blvd. Suite 252 Houston, TX 77036 United States."
^"Contact Us." MetroBank. Retrieved on December 27, 2010. "MetroBank, N.A. 9600 Bellaire Blvd., Suite 252 Houston, Texas 77036"
^"Sharpstown Health Services". City of Houston. Retrieved 2021-04-09. Sharpstown Health Services 6201 Bonhomme Road South Tower, Third Floor Houston, Texas 77036
^"Contact Information". Liberty High School. Retrieved 2017-11-24. OUR NEW LOCATION: Sharpstown International 8330 Triola Houston, TX 77036
^"Home". Liberty High School. Retrieved 2022-06-18. Liberty High School has moved to its permanent location: 5407 Gulfton St. Houston, TX 77081 - See the scrolling panels for the address.
^"Contact Us." Harmony Public Schools]." Retrieved on December 2, 2011. "Harony Public Schools Central Office 9321 W. Sam Houston Pkwy S. Houston, TX 77099"
^"Contact Us." Harmony Science Academy High School. Retrieved on December 2, 2011.
^"Contact." Harmony School of Innovation. Retrieved on December 3, 2011. "Address: 9421 W. Sam Houston Pkwy S Houston, TX 77099"
