Greenspoint, Houston

Greater Greenspoint, also referred to as the North Houston District, is a 7 square miles (18 km2) business district and a suburban neighborhood in northern Harris County, Texas, United States, located mostly within the city limits of Houston. Centered around the junction of Interstate 45 and Texas State Highway Beltway 8 near George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the area is a classic example of a planned edge city. The initial retail and office development centered around Greenspoint Mall was a project of the Friendswood Development Company during the 1970s and early 1980s. Greenspoint is one of Houston's major business districts, with of office space. The district's 2,880 companies host a workforce of nearly 50,000 people.

Greenspoint is located at the junction of two major regional highways, Interstate 45 (the North Freeway) and Texas State Highway Beltway 8. The district is only 6 mile (10 km) west of George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). The district is straddled by Greens Bayou, a major tributary of Buffalo Bayou which flows from west to east. The bayou was extensively channelized in the 1970s to improve drainage from the then new airport; however, rapid development within its environs has compromised its ability to handle high volume rainfall events. Over Construction also overwhelmed the bayou with uncontrolled sewage overflows in the 1970s and 1980s, and the waterway continues to struggle with water quality issues. In 2005, the Houston–Galveston Area Council identified Greenspoint as one of the most hazardous communities in Houston for pedestrians.

The Greater Greenspoint super neighborhood, as defined by the City of Houston, had an estimated population of 42,569 people in 2012. There were 13,859 households, of which 9,235 were family households. The master plan included 5,000 apartment units and eight interconnected office towers. After frequent robberies in the parking lot and the infamous murder of deputy Roxyann Allee the mall was nicknamed "Gunspoint." In 1998, Goldman Sachs purchased 24 Greenspoint area apartment complexes, totaling of rentable space, for over $130 million. 15 of those complexes were extensively renovated and merged into a large development known as "CityView", designed to appeal to higher income young professionals. Three quarters of the district's multi family housing is located within a floodplain. In 2017, Greenspoint Mall entered into a contract for sale to an international investment group which seeks to replace the ailing complex with mixed use development. By 2020 Amazon had established a warehouse in Greenspoint. R. A. Schuetz of the Houston Chronicle stated that a "revival" in Greenspoint was occurring. In 2019 Florian Martin of Houston Public Media reported that year that the "Gunspoint" nickname was still in use and that despite an increase in development and a decline in the crime rate, that "It’s Not Quite Houston’s New Hotspot Just Yet".

Greenspoint contains of office space hosting 2,880 companies with nearly 50,000 employees. Following the completion of a comprehensive new corporate campus in Spring, ExxonMobil withdrew completely from Greenspoint, abandoning approximately of office space during the mid 2010s. This move severely impacted the district's office market, which saw its office occupancy rate plummet to 60% in 2015, making it the worst performing office submarket in Greater Houston. Prior to its move, ExxonMobil had consolidated a variety of departments into the district, including computer operations and exploration. The corporation's investment in Greenspoint had been so substantial that it was responsible for the construction of an entire eight story office building, Greenspoint Eight, in the mid 1990s. ExxonMobil's presence expanded further in the 2000s, when it leased additional space and spent millions of dollars on infrastructure improvements.

Greater Greenspoint straddles the city limits of Houston, with portions lying in unincorporated Harris County. Since Greenspoint is not an incorporated area, it does not have fixed geographic boundaries. The portion of Greenspoint within Houston is part of Houston City Council district B. The Houston Police Department (HPD) serves the Houston portions of Greenspoint from the North Belt Police Station. The station, in a temporary office building location was of 2020, opened in January 2018. HPD previously served it as part of the North Patrol Division, While Greenspoint was a part of the North District, HPD operated two "storefronts" – small police stations located in retail centers – in the area: Aldine Storefront along Interstate 45 near Airline Drive and Greenspoint Storefront on the grounds of Greenspoint Mall. Greenspoint is serviced by a special management district, the North Houston District, which was created by the Texas Legislature in 1991 to fund infrastructure, public safety, branding, and planning initiatives. The district levies its own special ad valorem commercial property tax on parcels within its boundaries to fund these improvements. The entity was known as the Greenspoint District until 2016, when it was renamed to reflect its incorporation of areas outside the traditional boundaries of Greenspoint. The Greater Greenspoint Redevelopment Authority (GGRA), which oversees the Greenspoint Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ), is a separate entity from the North Houston District. TIRZs, which are created by the City of Houston (as opposed to the Texas Legislature), use tax increment financing to fund infrastructure and economic development projects within their boundaries. While the North Houston District and the GGRA often cooperate to create, manage, and fund infrastructure projects, they are distinct legal entities with different geographic boundaries. The Houston Fire Department operates Station 74 Greenspoint, located in Fire District 64. The station at Airline and Goodson was built in 1979; the location was shared with the Little York Volunteer Fire Department. The current Station 74, located at Aldine Bender at Lillja, was built in 1983.

The United States Postal Service operates the Greens North Post Office at 1530 Greensmark Drive. The U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Houston Field Office and the Houston office of the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are in Greenspoint and in Houston.

Lone Star College Houston North (part of the Lone Star College System), is located along Beltway 8; it is on the south side of Beltway 8 while Greenspoint Mall is on the north side. Lone Star College North Harris also serves much of the area.

Most students living in Greenspoint are zoned to the Aldine Independent School District; however, some are zoned to the Spring Independent School District. PreK schools serving sections of Greenspoint include deSantiago, Griggs, Hinojosa (in Aldine), Keeble, and Magrill. Elementary schools serving sections of Greenspoint include Greenspoint (in Greenspoint), Black, Bussey (in Greenspoint), Calvert, Eckert, Gray (in Greenspoint), Marcella (in Greenspoint), Spence (in Greenspoint), Stehlik (in Greenspoint), and Thompson. Marcella and Stehlik were previously grade 5 6 intermediate schools. Middle schools serving Greenspoint include Stovall (in Greenspoint), Lewis, Plummer, and Teague. Aldine High School and Benjamin O. Davis High School are located in Greenspoint and serve portions of the district. Nimitz High School serves a small section. When Davis High School opened in 2012, a portion of Greenspoint was rezoned to that school.

None of the Spring ISD schools serving Greenspoint are in Greenspoint. Clark Primary and Clark Intermediate School, in an unincorporated area, serve one portion of Greenspoint for elementary school. Heritage Elementary School, in an unincorporated area, serves another. The SISD portion is also zoned to Wells Middle School and Dekaney High School, both in unincorporated areas.

The Harris County Public Library Aldine Branch, located at 11331 Airline Drive in Greenspoint and in Houston, serves the community. The branch opened in 1976. The renovated Aldine Branch reopened on September 6, 2001. The expansion and renovation was originally scheduled to be completed in January 2001.

The management district destroyed two abandoned apartment complexes and replaced them with parks operated by the management district. The CityView Park includes benches, a garden, a 30 feet (9 m) by 30 feet (9 m) pavilion, a trellis, a seat wall used for resting and providing shade, and tables. The Thomas R. Wussow Park has baseball/soccer (football) fields, hike and bicycle trails, a playground, a public pavilion, a spray ground, and sand volleyball courts. The park was named after Thomas R. Wussow, the founder of the district and a member of the district's board. In 2010 the management district announced that a skate park would be established by 2010 in an area at Kuykendahl Road at Rankin Road, near Interstate 45.