Timbergrove Manor is a neighborhood in northwest

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It consists of two sections with two different homeowners associations: Timbergrove Manor Civic Club (TMCC) and Timbergrove Manor Neighborhood Association (TMNA). Timbergrove Manor derives its name from the pine trees in the community. there are about 1,200 houses there.

History

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

farmers settled the area in the 1800s. Timbergrove Manor itself was developed beginning in 1950. Chris Lane of the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'' interviewed a friend who lived in the area in the 1970s as a child, and the friend stated that he recalled the Timbergrove Manor area "felt safe and seemed like a good neighborhood". Lane contrasted it to the poor reputation of the

Houston Heights Houston Heights (often referred to simply as "The Heights") is a community in northwest-central Houston, Texas, United States. "The Heights" is often referred to colloquially to describe a larger collection of neighborhoods next to and including ...

at the time. After residences in the Houston Heights became more expensive, people wishing to be near the Houston Heights bought houses in Timbergrove Manor. In 2000 Katherine Feser of the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'' reported that house prices were rising in Timbergrove Manor. In 2001 it flooded during

Tropical Storm Allison Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical storm that devastated southeast Texas in June of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season. An arguable example of the "brown ocean effect", Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical or su ...

. In 2014 Lane reported that homebuyers wanting to be close to the center of the city continued to buy in the area, and that there were fewer demolitions of older houses compared to Oak Forest.

Composition

The TMCC serves sections 5-14.Home
Timbergrove Manor Civic Club. Retrieved on January 11, 2019. "Serving Timbergrove Manor Sections 5-14" The development has

ranch-style houses Ranch (also known as American ranch, California ranch, rambler, or rancher) is a domestic architectural style that originated in the United States. The ranch-style house is noted for its long, close-to-the-ground profile, and wide open layout. ...

. Lane wrote that lot sizes in Timbergrove Manor were relatively large for houses within the

610 Loop Interstate 610 (I-610) is a freeway that forms a loop around the inner city sector of the city of Houston, Texas. I-610, colloquially known as The Loop, Loop 610, The Inner Loop, or just 610, traditionally marks the border between the i ...

, and since Timbergrove Manor was developed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, its houses appear "much more planned" and "more uniform" compared to ones in the Houston Heights.

Education

Both homeowners associations in Timbergrove Manor are in the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

(HISD). The TMCC section is assigned to:Section Map
" Timbergrove Manor Civic Club. Retrieved on January 11, 2019. Sinclair Elementary School, Frank M. Black Middle School, and

Waltrip High School Stephen Pool Waltrip High School is a public high school located at 1900 West 34th Street in Houston, Texas, United States, 77018. Waltrip, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Houston Independent School District. Waltrip has Hous ...

.Waltrip High School Attendance Zone
"

. Retrieved on January 11, 2019. The TMNA section is assigned to: Love Elementary School, Hamilton Middle School, and Waltrip High. In the late 1970s HISD had plans to move the

High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Kinder HSPVA, HSPVA or PVA) is a secondary school located at 790 Austin Street in the downtown district of Houston, Texas. The school is a part of the Houston Independent School District. ...

(HSPVA) to a lot in Timbergrove Manor. Parents rallied against the move due to its lack of proximity to

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45, ...

, artist landmarks, and the

Houston Museum District The Houston Museum District is an association of 19 museums, galleries, cultural centers and community organizations located in Houston, Texas, dedicated to promoting art, science, history and culture. The Houston Museum District currently inc ...

, even though the district had already paid $500,000 for planning as of 1979. Instead, it moved to Montrose. The district again considered using the Timbergrove site circa 1998, when the Montrose site became extremely overcrowded and parents requested a new campus, but against parents disapproved the Timbergrove site due to the lack of proximity.

Parks and recreation

Jaycee Park is in TMCC. It underwent a $1 million renovation beginning in 2009; the plans called for adding new athletic facilities and playgrounds, tree planting, and renovating existing ballfields. A former pavilion was demolished as part of the renovations. The Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Houston Parks Board, and Friends of Jaycee Park developed the renovation plan, and the third organization engaged in fundraising campaigns to pay for the park. According to the renovation plans, the park would have a trail, a play area, a baseball field, a basketball court, tennis courts, and a sand volleyball court. It would also have an open area for play and dedicated children's playgrounds. By 2012 the

Kinder Foundation The Kinder Foundation is a Houston-based 501c3 nonprofit organization. It was established in 1997 by Richard Kinder and Nancy Kinder. Since its establishment, the Kinder Foundation has committed more than $410 million in grants and transformat ...

paid $100,000 for installing the jogging trail and exercise equipment on the trail site. West 11th Street Park, in TMCC, is a City of Houston park property; the community already used it as a park by the 1950s. The Timbergrove Sports Association uses the baseball diamond there. The

Hogg Foundation The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health is a grantmaking organization with the mission to improve the mental health of Texans. As a unit of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin, the Foundation seeks ...

, the original owners, gave it to the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

(UT). In the 1950s HISD acquired the property from UT. HISD never developed a school there, and instead sold it to the City of Houston for $9.2 million in 2005 after declaring it "surplus property" the previous year. Under state law HISD had to sell the property once it was declared surplus, and HISD gave priority to the municipal government over any potential private buyers. The City of Houston took out a $3.5 million loan to buy the park, and had been given twelve months to pay it off, or else a part of the park would be repossessed. This prompted residents to set up fundraisers to help pay off the loan.

References

External links

Timbergrove Manor Civic Club

Timbergrove Manor Neighborhood Association
{{Houston Neighborhoods in Houston