Inwood Forest is a community about a 3/4 mile west of historic Acres Homes in northwest Houston, Texas, United States.
Land in what is now Inwood Forest was originally Native American hunting grounds. In the 1860s German American farmers settled along the White Oak Bayou. For a 100-year period until 1963, the Fuchs family owned the land that would become Inwood Forest and surrounding subdivisions; during that year a real estate developer bought the land. Many of the original houses in Inwood Forest were developed for oil company executives. [1] Wayne Norden, the president of the Near Northwest Management District, stated in 2011 that Inwood Forest was a different kind of neighborhood in the 1970s than in the 2010s. [2] The City of Houston annexed the Inwood Forest area in 1975, adding 2,125 acres (860 ha) of land to the city limits. [3] The neighborhood began to change after a recession in the late 1980s. Many businesses shut down, and former residents moved to suburbs. [2]
Dennie Hodge, an Inwood Forest resident quoted in the Houston Chronicle , said that around three-fourths of the houses in her neighborhood flooded during Tropical Storm Allison. After Hurricane Katrina, evacuees from the hurricane poured into the Houston area. The occupancy rates of apartments around Inwood Forest increased from the 40 to 60 percent range to almost 100 percent. [1] Julie Grothues, president of the Inwood Forest Community Improvement Association, said in a 2008 Houston Chronicle article that she saw children playing in the streets of Inwood Forest while she did not see any in 1978. [4]
Throughout several years leading to 2011, the City of Houston had demolished older apartment complexes. In 2011 the city demolished the Gables Apartments. [2]
The boundaries of the community are Gulf Bank Road to the north, U.S. Route 290 to the west, Pinemont to the south, and T.C. Jester to the east. It consists of 32 subdivisions. [4] It is located within a 30-minute commute from Downtown Houston, Uptown, and George Bush Intercontinental Airport. [4] Dennie Hodge, an Inwood Forest resident and real estate broker quoted in the Houston Chronicle , [1] said that Inwood Forest is five minutes away from the 610 Loop. [4]
The community was designed to complement the fairways of the Inwood Forest Country Club. Many roads have esplanades and mature trees. One street that has many custom houses also has large landscaped lots. [4] As of 2011 Inwood Forest contains many single-family houses surrounded by deteriorating apartment complexes. [2] Apartment complexes are located to the north and south of Inwood Forest. Hodge described the complexes as "scary," not well maintained, and as a "high crime area." [1]
Houston Fire Department operates Station 4 Inwood, which is in Fire District 4. [5] Fire Station 4, originally located in the historical Second Ward, moved to various other locations before reopening in its current location in 1986. [6]
The community is within the Aldine Independent School District. [7] Portions of Inwood Forest are zoned to Vines Early Childhood/Prekindergarten/Kindergarten (EC/PK/K) and Stovall EC/PK/K for early childhood through Kindergarten, [8] [9] J. Ruth Smith Elementary (formerly Academy) and Caraway Elementary School for the elementary level. [10] [11] All residents are zoned to Floyd Hoffman Middle School, [12] Eisenhower Ninth Grade School, [13] and Eisenhower High School. [14]
Previously the entire community was served by a single set of schools: Vines Early Childhood/Prekindergarten School, [15] Smith Academy, [16] Caraway Intermediate (then a school for grades 5-6), [17] Hoffman Middle, [18] Eisenhower Ninth Grade, [19] and Eisenhower High. [20]
Nearby subdivisions are served by Klein Forest High School in the Klein Independent School District.[ citation needed ]
The Inwood Forest Country Club was located in the community. It closed in 2007. [4] On April 7, 2011 the sale of the facility from Inwood Forest Partners (IFP) to the City of Houston closed. [21] The City of Houston acquired the former Inwood Forest Golf Course with the intent of providing "passive" recreational space and to improve drainage in the area. [22]
Aldine is a census-designated place (CDP) in unincorporated central Harris County, Texas, United States, located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston. The population was 15,999 at the 2020 census. The community is located on the Hardy Toll Road, Union Pacific Railroad, and Farm to Market Road 525. The Aldine area is near Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the second largest aviation facility in Texas.
Sharpstown is a master-planned community in the Southwest Management District, 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 Aldine Independent School District is a public school district based in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States. It serves portions of Houston and unincorporated Harris County. Aldine ISD serves the communities of Aldine, most of Greenspoint, most of East Aldine, and portions of Airline, Acres Homes, Kinwood, Bordersville, and Inwood Forest. The district is part of the taxation base for the Lone Star College System. As of 2020, Dr. LaTonya Goffney serves as superintendent of schools.
Acres Homes is a neighborhood located in northwest Houston, Texas. The 9-square-mile (23 km2) mile area is loosely bounded by the city limits and West Gulf Bank Road to the north; Pinemont Drive to the south; North Shepherd Drive to the east; and Alabonson Drive to the west. Historically, it has been predominantly African American. Unincorporated for decades, it was annexed to Houston in 1967.
Oak Forest is a large residential community in northwest Houston, Texas, United States. Oak Forest is the third largest group of subdivisions in Harris County.
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Kashmere High School is a secondary school in Houston, Texas that serves grades 9 through 12; it is a part of the Houston Independent School District. It is located in the Trinity Gardens neighborhood, and its namesake is the nearby Kashmere Gardens neighborhood.
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Dwight D. Eisenhower High School is a Title I public secondary school located in Near Northwest and in Houston, Texas, United States.
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YES Prep Public Schools, Inc. is a network of public, open-enrollment charter schools located in Greater Houston. Its headquarters are located at its Southside campus. The YES program is a university-preparatory program for grades K-12.
Northline is a community district located in North Houston, Texas near I-45. It is east of Acres Homes and South of Aldine. The area is mostly a Hispanic Community. The main roads are Airline Drive and Little York Road. Northline Mall used to be located in the area.
Aldine Senior High School is a public high school located in the Greenspoint district of northern Houston, Texas, United States. It is part of the Aldine Independent School District. The senior high school campus serves grades 10 through 12. The separate Aldine Ninth Grade School hosts students in grade 9.
East Aldine is a state management district in Harris County, Texas, United States, mostly in unincorporated areas, with some territory in the City of Houston. The East Aldine Improvement District, also known as the Aldine Management District, governs the area. Portions of the district coincide with the boundaries of the Aldine census-designated place. One park owned by the City of Houston, Keith-Wiess Park, is within the district limits.
The Northside is a district of Houston, Texas, United States. It is within the Greater Northside Management District.
The Airline Improvement District is a management district in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States, in Greater Houston and is located entirely within the postal zip code of 77037.
Near Northwest is a 16-square-mile (41 km2) district located in Harris County, Texas, partly within the city limits of Houston and partly in an unincorporated area. It is governed by the Near Northwest Management District, with its headquarters at the White Oak Conference Center, 7603 Antoine Dr, Houston, Texas.
Harris County Housing Authority (HCHA) is the low-income housing and public housing authority of Harris County, Texas in Greater Houston. Its headquarters are in southern Houston. It mainly serves areas outside of Houston, as the Houston Housing Authority serves that city.
Houston Housing Authority (HHA), formerly Housing Authority of the City of Houston (HACH), is the public housing authority in Houston, Texas.