Southside Place is a city in west central Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,835 at the 2020 census.
As of the 2000 census, Southside Place is the 13th wealthiest location in Texas by per capita income.
Southside Place functions as a bedroom community for upper-middle- and upper-class families. Many businesses are located in Southside Place; all are along Bellaire Boulevard.
The United States Postal Service uses "Houston" for all Southside Place addresses; "Southside Place, TX" is not an acceptable postal city name for mail addressed to locations in the city.
History
Southside Place opened on Easter Day in 1925. Edlo L. Crain, the developer, placed a pool and a park in a subdivision to attract residents to the townsite. The first section to open was south of the park. It was in proximity to Bellaire Boulevard and the streetcar line, which was nicknamed the "Toonerville Trolley". In 1926, development of the second section of Southside Place, which spanned from Harper Street to University Boulevard, began. The Great Depression slowed development. The site of Southside Place previously housed the Harris County Poor Farm. The Haden and Austin company had purchased the poor farm and, after a period, sold it to the E. L. Crain and Company."The History of Southside Place." City of Southside Place. Retrieved on July 6, 2011.
Southside Place incorporated in June 1931, with 600 residents. The city council first met on June 15 of that year. On August 3, 1934 the city council passed a resolution that declared Southside Place an incorporated city. Because of the incorporation, Houston did not incorporate Southside Place's territory into its city limits, while Houston annexed surrounding areas that were unincorporated.Lee, Renée C. "Annexed Kingwood split on effects." Houston Chronicle. Sunday October 8, 2006. A21. Retrieved on July 6, 2011. "Some of the area communities that incorporated as cities and escaped annexation by Houston:" Print version exclusively has the information cited; the information is not included in the online edition. A post office opened in 1940. Before World War II, the population stabilized at approximately 1,400. In the 1960s, the city reached a high of 1,500 residents. By 1979, the number of residents fell to 1,263. In 1988, the city had 1,560 residents. In 1990 the city had 1,384 residents.
In early 2009, Southside Place announced that it would demolish its previous municipal buildings and build a new multi-story municipal complex." Architects and Town Center Committee Update." City of Southside Place. July 1, 2008.
Glenn "Pat" Patterson is to serve as mayor until May 2021. There will be a mayoral election on May 1, 2021; Patterson will not seek reelection. Savvas T. Stefanides and Andy Chan are the candidates; the latter moved to Southside Place in 2004.
Geography
Southside Place is located at (29.709629, –95.435442). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.2 square miles (0.6 km), all of it land. The city is surrounded by the cities of Bellaire, Houston, and West University Place.
The Blair House, a two-story, red-brick, 183-unit apartment complex, opened in 1963 and was on a site. As the value of land rose in Southside Place, pressure came to redevelop the land. The complex close on September 11, 2015 and was bulldozed in November of that year. Trammell Crow Residential built the four-story, 269-unit Sinclear Apartments Southside Place in its place.
A portion of Braeswood Place, Blocks 1 and 2 of Braes Heights Section 1, is in Southside Place.Braes Heights Section 1 Blocks 1-2 (JPG). Harris County. Retrieved on March 24, 2019."Southside Place city, TX." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on March 24, 2019. The rest is in the City of Houston.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Southside Place city, Texas – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)1,3431,2291,23086.87%71.66%67.03%Black or African American alone (NH)1643631.03%2.51%3.43%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)0300.00%0.17%0.00%Asian alone (NH)642612384.14%15.22%12.97%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)0000.00%0.00%0.00%Other race alone (NH)6730.39%0.41%0.16%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)17351001.10%2.04%5.45%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1001372016.47%7.99%10.95%Total1,5461,7151,835 100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Southside Place had a population of 1,835. The median age was 38.4 years, with 23.1% of residents under the age of 18 and 14.4% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.6 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 735 households in Southside Place, of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 57.0% were married-couple households, 13.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 787 housing units, of which 6.6% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.5%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 1,268 69.1% Black or African American 65 3.5% American Indian and Alaska Native 5 0.3% Asian 238 13.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 1 0.1% Some other race 23 1.3% Two or more races 235 12.8% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 201 11.0%
2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 1,546 people, 618 households, and 370 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 647 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.72% White, 1.03% African American, 4.14% Asian, 1.81% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.47% of the population.
There were 618 households, out of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.44.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.2% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $81,267, and the median income for a family was $163,303. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $48,654 for females. The per capita income for the city was $57,021. About 3.3% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over. Government
Local government
Southside Place's city council meets on the second Tuesday of each month. The mayor and the city council are elected for two-year terms. Two and three vacancies are on the council on alternate years. Elections are held during the first Saturday in each May. Any qualified voter may be placed on the ballot for Mayor or a city council position. The Mayor and each council member receive a one U.S. dollar per year salary in accordance with a Texas state law which requires all city officials to receive a salary. As of 2021 the mayor is Andy Chan. Glenn ‘Pat’ Patterson preceded him. Melissa Byers, Jennifer Anderson, Dr. Melissa Knop, Douglas Corbett and Brad Stollberg are the city council members."." City of Southside Place. Retrieved on August 8, 2016.
The Southside Place Police Department is a 24-hour police organization that provides police services to the City of Southside Place. The Chief of Police is D.H. McCall and employs 12 sworn Texas Peace Officers. The Southside Place Police and Fire Departments are headquartered along with the city administration at 6309 Edloe Avenue. The Fire Department is a two engine company house. All of its members are volunteers. The Fire Chief is Ulysses Serrano. It has a mutual aid agreement with the cities of West University Place and Bellaire."." INTERLOCAL COOPERATION CONTRACT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SOUTHSIDE PLACE AND THE CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE. Retrieved on April 23, 2015.
The nearest public hospital is Ben Taub General Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. - See ZIP codes 77005 and 77025. See this map for relevant ZIP code.
Federal and state representation
Southside Place is in Harris County Precinct 1. As of 2022, Rodney Ellis serves as the commissioner of the precincts."Precinct Maps : All Precincts." Harris County, Texas. Retrieved on December 13, 2008." Welcome to the Harris County Precinct One Website!." Harris County, Texas. Retrieved on December 13, 2008.
Southside Place is located in District 134 of the Texas House of Representatives. As of 2021 Ann Johnson represents the district."House District 134." Texas House of Representatives. Accessed October 11, 2008. Southside Place is within District 17 of the Texas Senate."Senate District 17" Map. Senate of Texas. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
Southside Place is in Texas's 7th congressional district; as of 2019 Lizzie Fletcher is the representative."Congressional District 7." National Atlas of the United States. Retrieved on November 21, 2008.
Economy
The Braes Heights Shopping Center, a two-story mid-century modern shopping center, is located in Southside Place."Braes Heights Shopping Center." Houston Press. Retrieved on October 13, 2012. "Braes Heights Shopping Center 3800 Bellaire Blvd. Houston, TX""DC10BLK_P4869272_001.pdf." (Archive) U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on October 13, 2012. In 2012 the Houston Press ranked the center the "Best Strip Mall - 2012" due to its abundance of small businesses that made the editors feel nostalgic. The editors said "In many ways, Braes Heights seems more like Rice Village than Rice Village" because many iconic small businesses had left Rice Village by 2012.
Shell Oil Company's Bellaire Technology Center had been located in Southside Place." 85 years of research and development. Royal Dutch Shell. Retrieved on December 13, 2008. The facility opened as a geophysical processing center in 1936. For decades many scientists and engineers discovered and studied facts related to oil and natural gas. In 2008 Shell announced that it would close the Bellaire facility and expand the Westhollow Technology Center in Houston to accommodate most of the staff employed by the Bellaire center, while some staff would go to the Woodcreek Technology Campus in western Houston. Shell said that it closed the Bellaire facility partly because two thirds of the land was leased, and the lease was set to expire in 2010.Hays, Kristen. "ENERGY / Shell outgrows Bellaire hub / West Houston campus to expand to replace old research center." (Alternate link) Houston Chronicle. Wednesday July 2, 2008. Business 1. Retrieved on December 13, 2008."Research centres." Royal Dutch Shell. Retrieved on January 14, 2009. The move decreased tax revenue into the City of Southside Place; the city rezoned the parcel for various land uses.Perin, Monica and Jennifer Dawson. "Shell move to put choice land up for grabs." Houston Business Journal. Friday July 4, 2008. Retrieved on December 13, 2008.