Cottage Grove, Houston facts for kids
Cottage Grove is a community located in Houston, Texas. It's a busy neighborhood inside the 610 Loop, close to Memorial Park.
History
Cottage Grove started around 1910. It was one of Houston's first suburbs. Back then, people could buy a lot and build their own homes, much like today. The area was known for its unique houses on big lots, surrounded by tall pine trees.
From the 1920s, Cottage Grove was a lively place. Old maps show it had many homes, grocery stores, and other small businesses.
Around 2005, many young people and empty nesters (people whose children have grown up and moved out) started moving into Cottage Grove. This led to higher taxes, which made it hard for older residents on fixed incomes to stay.
In 2011, a company called Houston InTown Homes planned to build many new houses. This plan would make Cottage Grove about one-third bigger.
Cityscape
Cottage Grove is located within the 610 Loop. It's near Memorial Park. The neighborhood is between Shepherd Drive and Westcott Avenue. The major highway, Interstate 10 (Katy Freeway), runs right through it.
The streets in Cottage Grove are quite narrow. There aren't many places to park cars, and sidewalks are few. In 2009, a reporter from the Houston Chronicle mentioned that the neighborhood didn't have good drainage, meaning water could stand on the streets after rain. The first homes built here were small cottages.
Houses
Over time, the types of houses in Cottage Grove began to change. In 1995, there weren't many new townhouses being built. But by 2005, developers started building lots of new homes, including patio houses and townhouses. This was because more people wanted to live there.
The price of land went up a lot. For example, a piece of land that cost $9 per square foot in 2003 cost $20 per square foot by 2005. This meant a typical lot could cost $100,000 more. Some new houses were priced up to $280,000 in 2005.
By 2009, many large townhouses had been built. Often, one lot that used to have a single cottage now had several townhouses. This led to more cars parked on the streets. A city expert named Tom Murphy visited in 2007. He was surprised by how crowded the large new houses made the neighborhood look.
In 2011, another expert, Jerry Wood, noted that many three- and four-story townhouses were replacing the older bungalows. A resident named Mary-Jane Buschlen said that about 70% of the houses on her street were new. She felt that the new buildings were happening too fast for the neighborhood's services to keep up. She also said that many trees were destroyed, and flooding became a regular problem.
In 2010, InTown Homes planned to sell 365 houses in Cottage Grove. Their prices ranged from $275,000 to $550,000.
Economy
The company Fiesta Mart once had its main office in the Cottage Grove area. The building was taken down in the 2010s. As of late 2020, the land is still empty.
Education
Students in Cottage Grove attend schools in the Houston Independent School District. Most children go to Memorial Elementary School, while some go to Love Elementary School. All students attend Hogg Middle School in Norhill. For high school, most students are zoned to Waltrip High School, but some go to Lamar High School in Upper Kirby.
There used to be an elementary school in the community called Stevenson Elementary. It opened in 1915 as Cottage Grove High School and was renamed Stevenson in 1927. Around 2007, the school district thought about closing Stevenson to save money. The community tried to keep it open, arguing that it was starting to attract young families.
In 2011, Stevenson Elementary had 357 students. The school district decided to close it that year. Students were then sent to Memorial and Love Elementary Schools.
Parks and recreation
Cottage Grove Park is located right in the community. It has a covered basketball court, a baseball field, a playground, and paved parking.
In 2010, the Houston City Council approved a plan for a developer to build a hike and bike trail along a railroad line. Residents of Cottage Grove had also asked for an existing hike and bike trail to be made longer, connecting Shepherd Drive to Hempstead Road.
