Fondren SW Houston Surprise (Missouri City, Spring: fit in, apartment complex, renting)

[lostcauserammy]

I've read through a bit of the posts here on the SW area of town. I've also noticed that property popularity tends to rise the closer to the med center. I recently have spend some time in the area and looked at neighborhoods like Fondren Park, Fonmeadow and Northfield. The homes are huge with great architectural detail, but of course there are some pretty crummy apartments around the area. The thing is though, for the price, you can get a lot of house for the money. Plus I was amazed when I found the alt 90 off of 610. It's a straight shot into the medical center (where I work). Some more research has found that they have started the Braes Oak Management District, to improve that area with a sizeable budget and clear cut goals. I have some thoughts and would like to hear some from you guys.

Is it's close range to 90 going to be a plus for those of us who work in the medical center? It took me 15 minutes to get there when I tried it out during rush hour.

Does the proximity to Bellaire, Meyerland, Sugarland and Missouri City make it look to be a more desireable location to be? I recently read Missouri City was voted one of the best places to live on CNN, but living in Houston all my life i've never had nothing but negative opinions (but only from word of mouth).

Since crime from Katrina evacuees has lowered in the area, does it look like it's ready for a rebirth yet? The Braes Oak District seems to have plans to force improvements on the apartments, and I see some potential location wise.

The area has some great architecturally built homes with some sound construction, I am considering leaving renting and buying in the area. I have some friends who recently moved to Fonmeadow and love their home and the area. Everyone i talked to says they love the neighborhoods but hate the apartment lined streets, but I feel that a rebirth of the area may be coming soon. I'd love to see our city clean up and get some more attention nationwide, so Let's hear some thoughts.

[dv1033]

The area is a mixed bag. I was born and raised around W. Bellfort and Gessner (I'm 23 now) and am pretty familiar with SW Houston. The Fondren SW will be an area for immigrant families and minority professionals for a long. The closer you get to the loop (westbury, willowbend, meyerland, etc), the better the area gets generally.

I wouldn't say the area is poised for a rebirth anytime soon (in the sense in becoming a middle class area) but will continue to become ethinically diverse. They just built an Indian Community Center and Turkish Community Center along W. Bellfort.

[modster]

The Northfield section does have some incredible homes. Even though it is not inside the loop or super close in, it is still reasonably close in and very well priced per foot.

The story is what it is. Much like my own neighborhood you have a nice upscale subdivision that had too many apartments around it, complexes that went downhill in the 80's oil bust and are now pretty scummy. They dragged the schools down, and people fled to the next ring of suburbia. The area no longer appealed to people looking for the usual suburban environs & was just far enough out not to appeal to the urban pioneer types, so there is sat struggling for an audience. Prices reflect that struggle.

The negatives are obvious. Fondren is a disaster. Those complexes are not going anywhere and it is what it is.

On the up side, just to the east Westbury has been enjoying a major renaissance.

On the north, Braeburn Valley seems to be doing well too. So you have thriving areas that are trending positively right around it.

These surrounding areas benefit, in part, IMO by people priced out of closer in areas. A lot of the buyers in Westbury, for example, bought there because it was the closest in area they could afford. I don't mean that as a slam against Westbury, but I am sure a lot of people who bought in there would have rather bought in Garden Oaks or Heights or Timbergrove, but either couldn't get an adequate size home in there or couldn't afford it at all. The rising prices in these other areas is part of what has fueled the success of the areas around there like Maplewood and Westbury.

Since the housing stock in Fondren SW is really good, It would not surprise me to see a "spill over" effect as people looking in Westbury, Braeburn Valley, Robindell, Maplewood, etc., begin to look more seriously at Fondren SW. When that spillover will start in earnest is anyone's guess.

I do think attracting the audience of people looking to live as close in as they can in a house they actually like is going to be the trick.

This more urban audience tends to have a higher tolerance for transitional neighborhoods, the block by block adventure of good areas next to bad, and tends to be more open to older homes.

I also wonder if the collection of post modern architecture in FSW will come more into vogue, much like mid-century modern is now, which would also provide a draw since there are not that many areas where you can find modernist architecture, be it mid-century, post modern, contemporary, whatever.

As prices rise in closer in areas, it is going to push people to first ring suburbs where you have "the apartment complex issue." Be it Fondren SW, Sharpstown, Inwood Forest, Glenbrook Valley or Spring Branch. As people start expanding their near-town house hunts from places they thought they could afford, but find they either can't or can't get anything they would have, many may decide they can live near the complexes after all.

It is anyone's guess if it will rebound, but even if it does at some level, the apartment complexes will probably provide some "cap" on it, keeping it somewhat of a bargain. It could very well rebound, but I think it will only happen as part of a stronger overall housing market, not now. Of course Rice Military, Montrose, Heights, Garden Oaks were all "down" at one time or another too, so a renaissance is not entirely out of the question, it is just a matter of when, 5 years? 20 years? Who knows.

[dv1033]

Location, location, location. Fondren SW is in a great location for people who work at the Medical Center but like I said earlier, it's mostly professional minorities. It's surprising the amount of Filipinos in this area.

[EasilyAmused]

It has some pretty scary pockets in broad daylight. School zone and property value often goes hand in hand. Sharpstown HS is one un-desirable school

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by lostcauserammy

I've read through a bit of the posts here on the SW area of town. I've also noticed that property popularity tends to rise the closer to the med center. I recently have spend some time in the area and looked at neighborhoods like Fondren Park, Fonmeadow and Northfield. The homes are huge with great architectural detail, but of course there are some pretty crummy apartments around the area. The thing is though, for the price, you can get a lot of house for the money. Plus I was amazed when I found the alt 90 off of 610. It's a straight shot into the medical center (where I work). Some more research has found that they have started the Braes Oak Management District, to improve that area with a sizeable budget and clear cut goals. I have some thoughts and would like to hear some from you guys.

Is it's close range to 90 going to be a plus for those of us who work in the medical center? It took me 15 minutes to get there when I tried it out during rush hour.

Does the proximity to Bellaire, Meyerland, Sugarland and Missouri City make it look to be a more desireable location to be? I recently read Missouri City was voted one of the best places to live on CNN, but living in Houston all my life i've never had nothing but negative opinions (but only from word of mouth).

Since crime from Katrina evacuees has lowered in the area, does it look like it's ready for a rebirth yet? The Braes Oak District seems to have plans to force improvements on the apartments, and I see some potential location wise.

The area has some great architecturally built homes with some sound construction, I am considering leaving renting and buying in the area. I have some friends who recently moved to Fonmeadow and love their home and the area. Everyone i talked to says they love the neighborhoods but hate the apartment lined streets, but I feel that a rebirth of the area may be coming soon. I'd love to see our city clean up and get some more attention nationwide, so Let's hear some thoughts.

We live in the area (Fondren and Bellfort). I have mixed feelings about the area. We moved here specifically because there is a large Orthodox Jewish community in the area (which we're part of). The pluses are the obvious - decent houses at great prices. Within our little area the houses are kept very nice and there is a heavy presence by the 24/7 County Constable patrol which the HOA pays for, so I don't worry too much about crime in the immediate neighborhood beyond normal, common sense precautions. The neighbors are friendly and it is an easy 20 minute drive to my office. The biggest negative is the crackhouse apartments lining Fondren and Bellfort. It has a pretty ghetto feeling and most of the strip mall stores cater to that element (a ton of pawn shops, check cashing places, etc.). We drive over to the Randalls on the other side of Post Oak or to the Target at Meyerland Plaza to do our shopping. I won't let my wife shop alone at the Fiesta or places close by, and I am not thrilled about patronizing the local shopping myself even though I have a CHL and carry a .38.

It would be nice if the area gentrified but the reverse happened here in the Eighties, and I'm hard pressed to see why it would get better. I have to imagine there are better low cost areas in town.

[dv1033]

^^^
I live down the road from you and lifeguard at the pool in the neighborhood you live in probably in my high school years. I can understand not wanting to patronizing some of the local shops, you gotta do what you feel comfortable doing.

However, at the neighborhood Walmart (@ Gessner and W. Bellfort) you will see old white folks, along with just about every ethnic group buying groceries. I haven't been to the Fiesta in a long, but that particular area is a little bit worse off than the area in general.

[MrSykes]

Originally Posted by rb4browns

We live in the area (Fondren and Bellfort). I have mixed feelings about the area. We moved here specifically because there is a large Orthodox Jewish community in the area (which we're part of). The pluses are the obvious - decent houses at great prices. Within our little area the houses are kept very nice and there is a heavy presence by the 24/7 County Constable patrol which the HOA pays for, so I don't worry too much about crime in the immediate neighborhood beyond normal, common sense precautions. The neighbors are friendly and it is an easy 20 minute drive to my office. The biggest negative is the crackhouse apartments lining Fondren and Bellfort. It has a pretty ghetto feeling and most of the strip mall stores cater to that element (a ton of pawn shops, check cashing places, etc.). We drive over to the Randalls on the other side of Post Oak or to the Target at Meyerland Plaza to do our shopping. I won't let my wife shop alone at the Fiesta or places close by, and I am not thrilled about patronizing the local shopping myself even though I have a CHL and carry a .38.

It would be nice if the area gentrified but the reverse happened here in the Eighties, and I'm hard pressed to see why it would get better. I have to imagine there are better low cost areas in town.

I know what you mean. The area has come a little ways though since the rampant drug and gang presence in the 90's and the installation of the HPD substation. But progress seems a bit stagnant nowadays. The only real stabilizing community force was perhaps the Morris Frank library, which recently relocated further up Fondren. It would usually be packed during the summer months with youngsters preferring to go online rather than run the streets in the heat.

I would say that in my experience, there seems to be an unspoken rule against messing with the Jews. Indeed, I notice many of them walking up and down Fondren from time to time, mostly in the vicinity of the Torah Day School. Sometimes alone, sometimes in groups, daytime and evening, minding their own business. Nobody really ever bothers them.

[lostcauserammy]

Originally Posted by MrSykes

I would say that in my experience, there seems to be an unspoken rule against messing with the Jews. Indeed, I notice many of them walking up and down Fondren from time to time, mostly in the vicinity of the Torah Day School. Sometimes alone, sometimes in groups, daytime and evening, minding their own business. Nobody really ever bothers them.

MySykes, it seems that most of the crime generated in this area is usually the black on black crime and frequently seen in the apartments. I've seen many people of the Jewish faith while I have been looking at the area and yes, they seem to not look worried at all.

[lostcauserammy]

Originally Posted by modster

Since the housing stock in Fondren SW is really good, It would not surprise me to see a "spill over" effect as people looking in Westbury, Braeburn Valley, Robindell, Maplewood, etc., begin to look more seriously at Fondren SW. When that spillover will start in earnest is anyone's guess.

I do think attracting the audience of people looking to live as close in as they can in a house they actually like is going to be the trick.

This more urban audience tends to have a higher tolerance for transitional neighborhoods, the block by block adventure of good areas next to bad, and tends to be more open to older homes.

I also wonder if the collection of post modern architecture in FSW will come more into vogue, much like mid-century modern is now, which would also provide a draw since there are not that many areas where you can find modernist architecture, be it mid-century, post modern, contemporary, whatever.

As prices rise in closer in areas, it is going to push people to first ring suburbs where you have "the apartment complex issue." Be it Fondren SW, Sharpstown, Inwood Forest, Glenbrook Valley or Spring Branch. As people start expanding their near-town house hunts from places they thought they could afford, but find they either can't or can't get anything they would have, many may decide they can live near the complexes after all.

Modster, I agree with you on this. It's so weird to me (keep in mind I lived in the burbs all my life) that in Houston it is a block by block adventure. Where I grew up, everyone was white and middle class though my family was not white, we fit in. Looking at the market areas now, I see so much great stuff next to junk. Westbury is a good looking neighborhood, and I think there will be a spillover. Even if the apartments don't go away, then at least the neighborhoods will still maintain a level of value, and provide homes for the young professionals who are not yet ready to make a 250k+ commitment somewhere else near downtown or the med center.