Southside Place, Texas

City of Southside Place
City
A sign with Southside Place's logo
Location of Southside Place, Texas
Coordinates: 29°42′35″N 95°26′8″W / 29.70972°N 95.43556°W / 29.70972; -95.43556Coordinates: 29°42′35″N 95°26′8″W / 29.70972°N 95.43556°W / 29.70972; -95.43556
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Harris
Area
• Total	0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2)
• Land	0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	49 ft (15 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	1,715
• Density	8,600/sq mi (2,900/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	77005
Area code(s)	713
FIPS code	48-69272[1]
GNIS feature ID	1347529[2]

Southside Place is a city in west central Harris County, Texas, United States.^[3] The population was 1,715 at the 2010 census.^[4]

As of the 2000 census, Southside Place was the 13th wealthiest location in Texas by per capita income.

Southside Place functions as a bedroom community for middle and upper-middle-class families. Many businesses are located in Southside Place; all are along Bellaire Boulevard.

The United States Postal Service uses "Houston" for all Southside Place addresses; "Southside Place, TX" is not an acceptable postal city name for mail addressed to locations in the city.^[5]

History

Southside Place opened on Easter Day in 1925. Edlo L. Crain, the developer, placed a pool and a park in a subdivision to attract residents to the townsite. The first section to open was south of the park. It was in close proximity to Bellaire Boulevard and the streetcar line, which was nicknamed the "Toonerville Trolley". In 1926, development of the second section of Southside Place, which spanned from Harper Street to University Boulevard, began. The Great Depression slowed development. The site of Southside Place previously housed the Harris County Poor Farm. The Haden and Austin company had purchased the poor farm and, after a period, sold it to the E. L. Crain and Company.^[6]

Southside Place incorporated in June 1931 with 600 residents. The city council first met on June 15 of that year. On August 3, 1934 the city council passed a resolution that declared Southside Place an incorporated city.^[3][6] Because of the incorporation, Houston did not incorporate Southside Place's territory into its city limits, while Houston annexed surrounding areas that were unincorporated.^[7] A post office opened in 1940. Before World War II the population stabilized around 1,400. In the 1960s the city reached a high 1,500 residents. By 1979 the number of residents fell to 1,263. In 1988 the city had 1,560 residents. In 1990 the city had 1,384 residents.^[3]

In early 2009 Southside Place announced that it would demolish its previous municipal buildings and build a new multi-story municipal complex.^[8]

Geography

Map of Southside Place

Southside Place is located at 29°42′35″N 95°26′8″W / 29.70972°N 95.43556°W / 29.70972; -95.43556 (29.709629, -95.435442)^[9]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²), all of it land. The city is surrounded by the cities of Bellaire, Houston, and West University Place.^[3]

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,546 people, 618 households, and 370 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,270.9 people per square mile (2,387.7/km²). There were 647 housing units at an average density of 2,624.4/sq mi (999.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.72% White, 1.03% African American, 4.14% Asian, 1.81% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.47% of the population.

A marker indicating the city of Southside Place

There were 618 households out of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.44.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.2% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.

A billboard owned by the city of Southside Place

The median income for a household in the city was $81,267, and the median income for a family was $163,303. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $48,654 for females. The per capita income for the city was $57,021. About 3.3% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Southside Place City Hall

Southside Place's city council meets on the second Tuesday of each month. The mayor and the city council are elected for two-year terms. Two and three vacancies are on the council on alternate years. Elections are held during the first Saturday in each May. Any qualified voter may be placed on the ballot for Mayor or a city council position. The Mayor and each council member receive a one U.S. dollar per year salary in accordance with a Texas state law which requires all city officials to receive a salary. As of 2011 the mayor is Glenn "Pat" Patterson. Richard Rothfelder preceded him. Randy Sim, Scott Luther, Ashley Bryan, Charles David Thompson, and Renato Pereira (Mayor Pro-Tem) are the city council members.^[10]

The Southside Place Police Department and the Southside Place Fire Department are headquartered along with the city administration at 6309 Edloe Avenue. The Fire Department is a two engine company house. All of its members are volunteers. It has a mutual aid agreement with the cities of West University Place and Bellaire.^{[citation needed]}

Federal and state representation

Southside Place is divided between Harris County Precinct 1 and Harris County Precinct 3. As of 2008 El Franco Lee and Steve Radack, respectively, serve as the commissioners of the precincts.^[11][12]

Southside Place is located in District 134 of the Texas House of Representatives. As of 2011 Sarah Davis represents the district.^[13] Southside Place is within District 17 of the Texas Senate.^[14]

Southside Place is in Texas's 7th congressional district; as of 2008 John Culberson is the representative.^[15]

Economy

Shell Oil Company Bellaire Technology Center

Shell Oil Company's Bellaire Technology Center is located in Southside Place.^[16] The 310,000-square-foot (29,000 m²) facility opened as a geophysical processing center in 1936. For decades many scientists discovered facts related to oil and natural gas. In 2008 Shell announced that it will close the Bellaire center and expand the Westhollow Technology Center in Houston to accommodate the most of the staff employed by the Bellaire center, while some staff would go to the Woodcreek Technology Campus in western Houston. Shell said that it closed the Bellaire facility partly because two thirds of the land was leased, and the lease was set to expire in 2010.^[17][18] The move will decrease tax revenue into the City of Southside Place. The city rezoned the parcel for various land uses.^[19]

The Braes Heights Shopping Center, a two story mid-century modern shopping center, is located in Southside Place.^[20][21] In 2012 the Houston Press ranked the center the "Best Strip Mall - 2012" due to its abundance of small businesses that made the editors feel nostalgic. The editors said "In many ways, Braes Heights seems more like Rice Village than Rice Village" because many iconic small businesses had left Rice Village by 2012.^[20]

Transportation

A Southside Place street sign and street light

Southside Place is a member city of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO). The city is served by bus lines 2 (Bellaire), 68 (Brays Bayou Crosstown), and 73 (Bellfort Crosstown).^[22][23][24]

Education

Primary and secondary education

The city is served by Houston Independent School District. The community is within Trustee District V, represented by Dianne Johnson as of 2008.^[25] Johnson will no longer serve as a board member after 2009.^[26]

Pupils who live in Southside Place north of Bellaire Boulevard are zoned to West University Elementary School in West University Place,^[27] and people who live in Southside Place south of Bellaire Boulevard are zoned to Mark Twain Elementary School in the Braeswood Place neighborhood of Houston.^[28] All Southside Place pupils are zoned to Pershing Middle School in Braeswood Place in Houston;^[29] any student zoned to Pershing may apply to Pin Oak Middle School (in Bellaire)'s regular program.^[30] Pupils in Southside Place who are west of Stella Link and south of Bellaire Boulevard are zoned to Bellaire High School in Bellaire,^[31] while all other pupils in Southside Place are zoned to Mirabeau B. Lamar High School (in Upper Kirby in Houston), also in Houston.^[32]

Gabriela Mistral Early Childhood Center is the closest early childhood center to the city of Southside Place. Since only poor students, homeless students, students who are not proficient in English, or children of active-duty members of the U.S. military or whose parent has been killed, injured, or missing in action while on active duty^[33] may be enrolled tuition-free in HISD preschools, most Southside Place residents rely on private preschools. Students who are eligible for HISD's preschools may attend any Early Childhood Center in Houston ISD.

Community colleges

Southside Place is served by the Houston Community College System.

Public libraries

Southside Place is near three public libraries. Harris County Public Library system operates a branch in West University Place. The Houston Public Library system operates the McGovern-Stella Link Branch in a nearby area in Houston. The city of Bellaire also operates its own library.

Parks and recreation

Fire Truck Park

The park and pool facilities are operated by the Southside Place Park Association, which is not affiliated with the City of Southside Place. The SPPA is governed by a seven member Board of Directors and managed by two paid employees.

The park/pool area is located between Auden and Edloe on the streets of Garnet and Farbar. Facilities include a park, tennis courts, baseball field, basketball court, swimming pool and clubhouse. Only the park, field and basketball court are open for public use. Use of the tennis court, pool and clubhouse require a park membership. Annual membership is $425 and is open to residents of Southside Place. Approx. 80% of Southside Place residents are also park members. The clubhouse is home to a summer camp that is run by Ed and Karin Davis. The park staff consists of 1 full-time park manager, 1 part-time clubhouse manager, 30+ camp staff members, 2 assistant pool managers, 2 swim lessons instructors and 35 Red Cross certified Life Guards. The pool is also home to a 150+ member swim team that competes with other pools in the Houston area. Swim team season runs from mid-May through the end of June.

Media

The Houston Chronicle is the area regional newspaper. On Thursdays, residents receive the Bellaire/West U/River Oaks/Meyerland local section.

The West University Examiner is a local newspaper distributed in the community .

The Village News is a local newspaper distributed in the community.

The dismantling of the Southside Place water tower

The city government publishes Southside Place Today, a community newsletter that is included with resident water bills.^[34]

See also

• List of cities in Texas

References

External links

• City of Southside Place official website
• Southside Place, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online

v t e Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land Counties Austin Brazoria Chambers Fort Bend Galveston Harris Liberty Montgomery Waller "Principal" cities Houston The Woodlands Sugar Land Baytown Conroe Other cities Alvin Angleton Bellaire Clute Deer Park Dickinson Freeport Friendswood Galena Park Galveston Humble Jacinto City Katy Lake Jackson La Marque La Porte League City Manvel Missouri City Pasadena Pearland Richmond Rosenberg South Houston Stafford Texas City West University Place For a complete listing, see list of cities and towns in Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land MSA Unincorporated areas Atascocita Channelview Cloverleaf Crosby Cypress Fresno Hockley Klein Port Bolivar Spring The Woodlands Bodies of water Buffalo Bayou Galveston Bay Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Houston Ship Channel San Jacinto River Trinity River Lake Houston Lake Conroe

v t e Municipalities and communities of Harris County, Texas, United States County seat: Houston Cities Baytown‡ Bellaire Bunker Hill Village Deer Park El Lago Friendswood‡ Galena Park Hedwig Village Hilshire Village Houston‡ Humble Hunters Creek Village Jacinto City Jersey Village Katy‡ La Porte League City‡ Missouri City‡ Morgan's Point Nassau Bay Pasadena Pearland‡ Piney Point Village Seabrook‡ Shoreacres‡ South Houston Southside Place Spring Valley Village Stafford‡ Taylor Lake Village Tomball Waller‡ Webster West University Place CDPs Aldine Atascocita Barrett Channelview Cinco Ranch‡ Cloverleaf Crosby Highlands Mission Bend‡ Sheldon Spring The Woodlands‡ Unincorporated communities Airline Bammel Barker Beaumont Place Bridgeland Community Cedar Bayou Champion Forest Cimarron Coady Copperfield Cypress Dyersdale East Aldine Fall Creek Hockley Houmont Park Howellville Huffman Hufsmith Kinwood Klein Kleinbrook Kohrville Louetta Lynchburg McNair Northcliffe Northcliffe Manor Northgate Forest North Houston Nottingham Country Remington Ranch Rose Hill Satsuma Timber Meadows Traces Westfield Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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