Braeswood Place is a group of subdivisions in Houston, Texas, United States.
Braeswood Place is a mainly single-family neighborhood inside the 610 Loop, east of the city of Bellaire, south of the cities of Southside Place and West University Place, west of the Texas Medical Center and the neighborhood of Old Braeswood, and north of the neighborhoods of Linkwood and Knollwood Village. Braeswood Place consists of approximately 2,200 homes and includes seven subdivisions: Ayrshire, Braes Heights, Braes Oaks, Braes Manor, Braes Terrace, Emerald Forest, and Southern Oaks.[1]
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The Braeswood Place Homeowners Association was charted in 1951.[2]
In the 1990s a group of community-minded residents spearheaded the effort to purchase dilapidated apartments and commercial businesses in a four-block area. The Stella Link Redevelopment Association (SLRA) emerged from the early efforts and further organized the fund-raising endeavors. SLRA was successful in its attempts and the apartments and commercial buildings were purchased and torn down.[3] New deed restrictions were put into place, two streets were closed and the area was developed into a neighborhood asset. SLRA created a master plan for the area and worked with the City of Houston and other independent entities to turn the once-blighted blocks into a landscaped backdrop for several community activities. The facilities now located on the $42 million Stella Link Park community service corridor site include the neighborhood library, the Weekley YMCA, and the national headquarters for The Sheltering Arms senior citizens facility.[4]
The neighborhood was deeply impacted by Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 which flooded about 500 of the community's 2,200 houses, which amounts to about 20% of the houses.[5][6] Before Allison, the neighborhood had been in a slow transition from mostly 1950s style ranch homes to two-story Colonial, Tudor, and Stucco houses. With the razing of many houses flooded by Allison, the transition pace quickly accelerated. Many upper middle class families moved into the newly-built houses.[6]
In 2004 Anjali Athavalley of the Houston Chronicle said "Established areas like Braes Heights, Braes Terrace and Weslayan Plaza have performed solidly over the past five years. But real estate agents say the chances of finding a bargain in those areas are slim."[7] In 2008 the Houston Press named the Stella Link Road area by Pershing Middle School as the "best hidden neighborhood."[8]
The homeowners association, Braeswood Place Homeowner's Association, is headquartered in Suite #112 at 4010 Blue Bonnet Boulevard.[9] The association has six officers, with each serving one or two years, and twelve area directors, each serving three years. A nominating committee selects candidates and members of the homeowners association cast ballots to elect the members. Area directors select "block captains" for each block. A block captain delivers the Sentinel, the homeowner's association newsletter, and communicate with area residents.[1]
Most of Braeswood Place is in the Houston City Council District C,[10] while a portion south of the Brays Bayou is in District K.[11]
Houston Fire Department Fire Station 37 is located in Braeswood Place at 3828 Aberdeen Way.[12] The station is in Fire District 21.[13] The original Station 37, located in a residential area at Aberdeen at Stella Link, opened in 1955. The current Station 37, located at 7026 Stella Link, opened on September 24, 2009. The grand opening ceremony for the station was held at 11 AM on October 16, 2009. The station features artwork at the main entrance and at the rear door. The front door "stained glass look" artwork resembles a water hose spraying water, and the back door artwork portrays a squirrel in an outdoor environment. The back door artwork ties into a story of firefighters at the original Station 37 feeding a "station" squirrel.[14]
The neighborhood is within the Houston Police Department's Southwest Patrol Division [15], headquartered at 4503 Beechnut Street.[16]
Harris County Precinct One, headed by El Franco Lee as of 2008, serves Braeswood Place.[17][18] Patrol services are privately contracted to the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable's Office.[2]
Braeswood Place is located in District 134 of the Texas House of Representatives. As of 2008, Ellen Cohen represents the district.[19] Braeswood Place is within District 17 of the Texas Senate.[20]
Braeswood Place is within Texas's 7th congressional district.[21] As of 2008 the representative is John Culberson.
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO) operates bus services in Braeswood Place. Bus routes 2 Bellaire, 4 Beechnut, 8 South Main, and 68 Brays Bayou Crosstown serve the community.[22][23]
Subdivisions that are covered by the Braeswood Place Homeowners Association include Ayrshire, Braes Heights, Braes Manor, Braes Oaks, Braes Terrace, Emerald Forest, and Southern Oaks.
Karl Young Park, a park operated by the City of Houston, is located at 7800 Stella Link Road.[24]
Helen's Park, named after Helen Dallerup Williams, was dedicated in October 2000. Williams was the wife of Myron Williams, a man who died in 1990. In his will Myron Williams stated that his remaining funds would be used to build a park with a fountain "of outstanding beauty, composed of lovely colors." The Myron Williams Trust maintains the park.[25]
Members of the community place their children in the West University Little League [1] (of the city of West University Place). Originally the community had its own little league team called the "Braes Bayou Little League." The team was merged into the West University Little League in 2005 [2]; players of the Braes Bayou Little League living in the ZIP codes of 77035 and 77096 were redirected to the Westbury Little League.
Next door to the recently redeveloped McGovern Park are two Houston Independent School District schools, Mark Twain Elementary School and Pershing Middle School. The original Mark Twain campus, which was built in the 1950s, was demolished to make way for a brand new campus in 2006. The original Pershing Middle School campus was also recently demolished, replaced with a new campus that opened in January, 2007. The Rice School, a magnet public school, is located just east of Braeswood Place.
Parts of Braeswood Place north of the Brays Bayou (including Braes Heights, Braes Oaks, and Ayrshire) are zoned to Twain Elementary.[26] Parts south of the bayou (including Braes Terrace) are zoned to Longfellow Elementary.[27] All parts of Braeswood Place are zoned to Pershing Middle.[28] Any student zoned to Pershing may apply to Pin Oak Middle School's (of the city of Bellaire) regular program.[29]
Pupils east of Stella Link (including Braes Heights, Braes Oaks) are zoned to Lamar High School[30] in the Upper Kirby district of Houston while students west of Stella Link or south of Brays Bayou (including Ayrshire and Braes Terrace) are zoned to Bellaire High School[31] in the city of Bellaire.
St. Vincent de Paul School, a K-8 Roman Catholic school operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, is in the area.
St. Mark's Episcopal School in the city of West University Place is also nearby.
The McGovern-Stella Link Branch of the Houston Public Library is located at 7405 Stella Link Road.[32] The library, named after physician John P. McGovern,[33] open on January 8, 2005.[34][35] The Houston Business Journal awarded the library a Landmark Award for Community Impact in 2006.[36][37] In 2007 and 2010 the Houston Press ranked the branch the "Best Public Library Branch."[38][39]
The Houston Chronicle is the area regional newspaper.
The West University Examiner is a local newspaper distributed in the community [3].
The Village News is a local newspaper distributed in the community.
