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Westchase is a business district located in western Houston, Texas, United States. More than 1,500 businesses reside in Westchase; Major employers that have offices in Westchase include ABB Group, BMC Software, Chevron, Dow Chemical, Halliburton, and Jacobs Engineering.[1] John Nova Lomax of the Houston Press said in a 2006 article that the segment of Westheimer Road in Westchase is "virtually all chains -- a Geography of Nowhere wasteland of Boston Market, Borders, Kroger, Randalls, Taco Bell, Citgo and Sonic. Several of the six CVS outlets we passed are there, as are a few of the uncountable Starbucks." He added that the segment of Westheimer Road in Westchase does not have "the sleaze of the Highway 6 area and the tacky exuberance of mid-Westheimer, the area between Chimney Rock and Fondren."[2]
[edit] HistoryWhat is now Westchase was land under the family of Bob Smith, a Houston rancher and philanthropist. In 1969 Friendswood Development Company purchased a section of Smith's land to form what is now Woodlake. In 1973 the Westchase Corporation purchased 760 acres of Smith family land. As development expanded, Chevron and Western Geophysical were some of the first companies to establish operations in Westchase. The section of Beltway 8 serving the area opened in 1988, increasing road access. The Westchase District began in 1995.[3] [edit] Economy  Halliburton operates the Houston Office (a.k.a. Oak Park Campus) on 67 acres of land in the Westchase district.[4][5][6][7] The complex includes the Latin America division of Easywell, a division of Halliburton.[8] In 2001 Halliburton announced that it planned to consolidate 8,000 employees to a newly-constructed complex on the Westchase property by 2004.[7][9] Halliburton planned to build two high rise office buildings with 2,000,000 square feet (190,000 m2) of feet total; the towers would have housed the construction, energy services, and engineering groups. The Halliburton campus as a whole would have had three towers, several parking garages, and skybridges connecting the buildings.[7] In December 2001 Halliburton canceled its plans to relocate employees to Westchase, disappointing real estate figures associated with Westchase. The Westchase district had no tenant for the 67 acres of land where Halliburton had planned to develop a new campus. Nancy Sarnoff of the Houston Business Journal said that it made more sense for the company to lease existing space instead of constructing new office space in times of economic downturns.[10] By 2012 Halliburton plans to close its Downtown Houston headquarters and consolidate its operations at its new headquarters in northern Houston and at the Westchase office. In 2009 the Westchase campus had 1,700 employees; Halliburton plans to add an additional 3,000 workers. At the Bellaire site Halliburton plans to build a 16 story tower, a two story "life center," an additional parking garage, expanded child care facilities, auditoriums, and bridges to connect the many buildings.[6] BMC Software is headquartered at 2101 CityWest Boulevard.[11][12] In 1991 BMC announced plans to build a new headquarters complex, which it anticipated would cost between 60 and 65 million dollars.[13] BMC planned to vacate two leased facilities in Sugar Land, Texas when its current headquarters, located on a 20 acre site purchased from Southwest Inc., opened; the land by itself costed over 8 million dollars. The 20 story, 120,000 square foot tower was scheduled to begin construction in March or April 1992 and the facility was scheduled to open in late 1993.[13][14] BMC temporarily subleased 90,316 square feet of space at the Permian Tower from Scurlock Permian Corporation until the headquarters was completed.[14] BMC Software's current headquarters was one of a few office buildings being built within a two year period prior to December 1992.[15] BMC Software's building was one of a few that opened within a two year period prior to December 1992.[15] Chevron Corporation occupies two buildings at 3901 Briarpark that were built by Texaco. The combined square footage in the buildings is 178,000 square feet (16,500 m2).[16][17] In 2006 Chevron occupied another 290,000 square feet (27,000 m2) building on Hayes Road in Westchase; that building had been earmarked for sale during that year.[16][18] The Men's Wearhouse has its headquarters in Westchase.[4][19] WesternGeco operates an office at 10001 Richmond Avenue.[20][21] 3010 Briarpark Drive has offices for ABB Group and CB&I's Briarpark Office, a sales and engineering office.[22][23][23][24] The studios of KRBE are located in Suite 700 of the Chase building at 9801 Westheimer Road.[22][23] The Texas division of Safeway, which operates Randall's Food Markets, is headquartered at 3663 Briarpark Drive in Westchase.[17][25] The office served as the headquarters of the independent Randall's company before its takeover.[26] [edit] Diplomatic missionsThe consulate generals of Costa Rica and Indonesia reside in Westchase.[27][27][28][29] The Indonesian consulate has been in Westchase since 1993, when consul general Achmad Surjadi purchased the 44,815-square-foot (4,163.4 m2) building located at 10900 Richmond Avenue.[29][30] The Consulate-General of Venezuela in Houston was in Westchase.[27][31] As of 2008 it is located outside of Westchase in Suite 220 at 2401 Fountain View Drive.[32] [edit] Government and infrastructure The Westchase Management District is headquartered in Suite 1175 at 10375 Richmond Avenue.[33] Two Houston Fire Department stations, Station 69 Westchase and Station 83 Royal Oaks, serve Westchase.[18][11] Both stations are a part of Fire District 83.[34] The Houston Police Department's Westside and Uptown Divisions serve separate sections of the neighborhood. [edit] County, state, and federal representation Westchase is located in Harris County Precinct 3, which is headed by Steve Radack as of 2008.[35] The United States Postal Service operates the Westchase Finance Unit at 3836 South Gessner Road and the Debora Sue Schatz Post Office at 2909 Rogerdale Road.[36][37][38] [edit] Education[edit] Colleges and universities The Houston Community College System operates commnity colleges for the Westchase area.[39] The HCC Alief Campus, a part of the Southwest College,[40] is located at 2811 Hayes Road in Westchase.[18][39] The Alief campus opened in 2007.[39] American InterContinental University Houston is in Westchase. [edit] Primary and secondary education[edit] Public schools Most of Westchase, which is south of Westheimer Road (Farm to Market Road 1093) and west of Gessner Road, is zoned to schools in Alief Independent School District, while the parts north of Westheimer and parts east of Gessner Road are zoned to the Houston Independent School District. The HISD portion of the community is within Trustee District VI, represented by Greg Meyers as of 2008.[41] The school zoning for the Alief ISD portion is as follows:[42][43][44]
The school zoning for the Houston ISD portion is as follows:
Houston ISD operates Sands Point Elementary School in rented space in the Institute of Chinese Culture at 10550 Westoffice Drive within the Alief ISD boundary;[20][46][47] the school opened in 1998.[47] [edit] Private schoolsPrivate schools in Westchase include Alexander-Smith Academy, River Oaks Academy, Wesley Academy, Woodlake Square Children’s Center, Ascension Episcopal School, Children’s World Learning Center, and the Grace Presbyterian Church and School. Westchase Methodist School is a preschool and kindergarten in Westchase.[48] [edit] Public libraries The area is served by the Judson W. Robinson-Westchase Neighborhood Library of Houston Public Library at 3223 Wilcrest Drive.[49] [edit] Parks and recreationThe Westchase Park, operated by the City of Houston, is located at 9851 Pagewood.[50] Harris County's Trace Gee Community Center, located at 3599 Westcenter Drive, is located in Westchase.[51][52] The county bought the building, which previously housed a finance company, in 1991. Steve Radack, a Harris County commissioner, renovated the building and named it after Tracy Gee, a crime victim who died in 1990; Radack said that criminals get publicity while victims do not get publicity, so he believed that the building needed to be named for a crime victim. The county opened the community center on September 17, 1993.[53] The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston maintains the Chinese Cultural Center at 10303 West Office Drive in Westchase.[20][54] [edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] External links
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