River Oaks Houston

The River Oaks Community

River Oaks, Houston is one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in all of Houston, Texas. Where the median price of a home for 2009 came in at just over 1.5 million and sold in just 83 days on the market. Of the River Oaks homes for sale in 2009 that closed sales prices ranged between $280,000 and $6.325 million. The median year built for the River Oaks community was 1940, with a median square footage of just shy of 4,200 square feet.

Those who own and live in River Oaks homes can brag excellent commute times to Downtown, Uptown/Galleria, and the Houston Medical Center. According to Google maps you can get from the River Oaks Houston subdivision to Downtown in 12 minutes, with a 13 minute commute to the medical center, and just 11 minutes to the Galleria. The River Oaks central location allows residents both a suburban feel with the availability of urban amenities. To read more about the history, amenities, and geography of the River Oaks subdivision click here.

River Oaks Houses And Homes

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River Oaks Lots For Sale

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River Oaks Subdivision Home Sales For Last 3 Months As Of 2/24/2010

The image above is a list of the comparable sold properties that closed since 11/1/2009. To get either access to actual sold River Oaks homes in real time check out our advanced Houston home search or if you would prefer a Houston home values report you should check out our Market Snapshot reports.

River Oaks Houston Continued

This section covers River Oaks in greater detail providing information about the history, amenities, demographics, geography and clubs of the subdivision in case you were looking for more general information rather than homes for sale in River Oaks.

River Oaks History

William and Michael Hogg, the sons of former Texas Governor Jim Hogg, and attorney Hugh Potter established River Oaks in the 1920s. Potter obtained an option to purchase 200 acres (81 ha) around the River Oaks Country Club in 1923, and in the following year William Hogg established the Country Club Estates in order to support the development of the community. The two brothers promoted the sale of lots in the subdivision for $2,200 apiece in 1928. The brothers, along with sister Ima Hogg, oversaw the construction of Bayou Bend stately southern-style home on the banks of Buffalo Bayou.

The development plans ensured that River Oaks’s parks and esplanades were planted with oaks, shrubs, azaleas and other flowers. Every detail of the development was planned to establish a well-integrated community. Advertised as a “distinguished experiment in fine living,” River Oaks became a national model for community planning. River Oaks was published in national newspapers, real estate media and design journals featuring the development’s planning standards, residential architecture, and landscape design during the 1920s and 1930s. Deed restrictions at the time restricted home prices to over $7,000 and specified architectural styles, with a gentlemen’s agreement excluding blacks, Jews, and other minorities. Homes along Kirby Drive were restricted to American Colonial or English Tudor style architecture.

During the 1920s, River Oaks was so effectively organized, planned and restricted that it became the most expensive neighborhood in Houston. Bus service to Downtown Houston opened in 1927. After the start of the Great Depression, 300 families lived in River Oaks. After World War II, River Oaks became predominately of upper class residents. After World War II as Houston experienced its greatest growth, River Oaks would become a haven for the wealthy of the city, and the middle classes and below had to look elsewhere for affordable housing

River Oaks has been the subject matter of scholarly studies, primarily because its significant contributions to Houston’s history and development as an elite suburban community. The community was the site of the 1972 murder of Dr. John Hill (later described in Thomas Thompson’s novel, Blood and Money) and the 1997 murder of Doris Angleton. River Oaks was the home of Jeff Skilling before he began serving his 25 year sentence in a prison in Minnesota for his involvement in the Enron scandal.

River Oaks Amenities

With all the affluent people who call River Oaks home, it should not surprise anyone that the neighborhood is chalked full of amenities such as parks, schools, libraries, and shopping opportunities.

Parks And Recreation

Adjacent to the community is the River Oaks Shopping Center, Houston’s first shopping center, located in the Neartown community. Constructed in 1927 and designed by architect Hugh Prather, the center, originally known as River Oaks Community Center, was one of the first automobile-oriented retail centers, which is ever so fitting for the dynamics of Houston, TX today, in the United States. Its design, with arcs of retail space on either side of West Gray Avenue, was considered a model for future development. Portions of the historic shopping center were demolished in September 2007 to redevelop the site for a bookstore and parking garage. As of 2008, Landmark Theatres operates the River Oaks Theatre, an “arthouse” theater, located in the center. The theater is the last historic movie theater in Houston that is still being according to designed.

River Oaks is home to the forty-member River Oaks Chamber Orchestra. The orchestra is composed of musicians from around the United States and guest conductors from around the world. The training facilities for the Houston Ballet and its pre-professional school, the Ben Stevenson Academy, are located on West Gray, east of the River Oaks Shopping Center. River Oaks Park and the River Oaks Community Center, operated by the City of Houston, is located at 3600 Locke Lane. River Oaks Park includes a quarter mile off-road trail located within the park’s boundaries, tennis courts, a playground, and a lighted sports ground. Memorial Park, a large urban park complex with many athletic facilities, is just North of River Oaks and Buffalo Bayou.

River Oaks Country Club, located within the community on the northern end of River Oaks Boulevard, is a country club that includes a golf facility that was designed by architect Donald Ross. Ross is considered to be one of the most significant golf course designers in the history of golf. Opening in 1923, the country club has hosted the River Oaks International Tennis Tournament since 1931.

Education

In the Houston area education is at the forefront of the real estate market. As most residents of this city consider the educational options of a neighborhood the single most important criteria when selecting were to live. Since many make the quality of schools their primary concern when picking a place to live, commercial developers also have it near the top of their lists when deciding where to implement their next project. This tradition of the importance of schools is alive and well when it comes to the River Oaks neighborhood as you might suspect. Directly below you find information regarding the schools that provide education to many of those that call River Oaks home.

Primary And Secondary Schools

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) operates the public schools serving River Oaks. The community is within Trustee District VII, represented by Harvin C. Moore as of 2009.

The public schools River Oaks Elementary, Lanier Middle School, and Lamar High School serve the River Oaks community. Lanier opened in 1926, River Oaks Elementary opened in 1929, and Lamar opened in 1937. Between 1986 and 1996, River Oaks Elementary School only admitted magnet school students from other areas of the city. The community was divided between the attendance zones of Wilson Elementary School (opened in 1925) and the now closed Will Rogers Elementary School (opened in 1950, closed in the summer of 2006). In 1995, several River Oaks parents petitioned HISD to re-establish the neighborhood program at River Oaks Elementary School which allows non-magnet students residing in the school’s boundaries to attend. Some magnet parents opposed, believing that the River Oaks program would reduce racial diversity at the school. In the fall 1996, HISD added a neighborhood program to the school for grades Kindergarten through 2nd grade, with grades 3 through 5 phased in over a subsequent three-year period.

Crockett Early Childhood Center is the closest public early childhood center to River Oaks, while Wilson Elementary School’s preschool program is the closest tuition-based program. Only economically-disadvantaged students, homeless students, students who are not proficient in English, or children of active-duty members of the U.S. military or whose parent has been killed, injured, or missing in action while on active duty may be enrolled in tuition-free HISD preschools. Students who are eligible for HISD’s preschools may attend any Early Childhood Center in Houston ISD for free. Students not eligible may enroll in tuition-based HISD preschool programs.

Several independent private schools serve the community. Since the 1970s and by 1995, most of the children in River Oaks were sent to private schools. Catholic schools, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the Houston MSA, include St. Thomas High School 9-12, males only, north of River Oaks along the north edge of the Buffalo Bayou and St. Anne Catholic School K-8, between River Oaks and Neartown. Other private schools in the area and private schools marketed to River Oaks families include St. John’s School K–12, in Upper Kirby, Annunciation Orthodox School (K-8, in the Neartown area, River Oaks Baptist School K-8, in River Oaks, Episcopal High School 9-12, Bellaire and The Kinkaid School, In 2006 St. Anne Catholic School received the Blue Ribbon Award.

Colleges And Universities

River Oaks is within the Houston Community College System boundaries. The closest campuses are the Central Campus in Midtown and the West Loop Center. Four-year universities and colleges in close proximity to River Oaks include the University of St. Thomas and Rice University in the Houston Museum District.

Libraries

The community is served by the Adele B. Looscan Branch of the Houston Public Library. The current Looscan Branch building opened in September 2007. The former Americans with Disabilities Act non-compliant library, which was established in 1956, closed on August 27, 2005 and was demolished in February 2006.

The previous Looscan branch had around 61,000 visitors in the fiscal year 2005. The original plans for Looscan called for the library to get a 5.37 million renovation. An Upper Kirby group proposed a new site near the Upper Kirby YMCA. Around that period the group Friends for Neighborhood Libraries began raising funds. The replacement library, with a cost of $6.2 million, had twice the staff and two and one half times the size of the previous facility. Friends of Neighborhood Libraries had raised one million dollars in four months, and around 2.5 million in total to help fund the new library; the group spent about 30,000 dollars for the expenses.

River Oaks Clubs

River Oaks Subdivision Location

The River Oaks subdivision is part of the Afton Oaks/River Oaks Houston super neighborhood and is located in the Houston Central community. With Buffalo Bayou bordering it on the North, S. Shepherd Drive on the East, Briar Hollow Lane on the West, and Westheimer Road on the South.

River Oaks Houston Demographics

River Oaks is within the Houston Super Neighborhood #23 Afton Oaks/River Oaks, a division of the City of Houston that includes River Oaks and some surrounding subdivisions. In 2000 the Super Neighborhood had 14,313 residents; 12,273 of them (85.74%) were non-Hispanic Caucasions. 1,160 (8.1%) were Hispanic,, 390 (2.72%) were Asian, 247 (1.72%) were Black, 18 were Native American, 13 were Native Hawaiian, and 23 were non-Hispanic others. 189 people were of two or more races.

According to the United States census in 2000, of the 12,088 residents over 18 years of age, 10,390 (85.95%) were non-Hispanic White. 945 (7.81%) were Hispanic, 353 (2.92%) were Asian, 205 (1.7%) were Black, 17 were Native American, 8 were Native Hawaiian, and 22 were non-Hispanic other. 148 were of two or more races.

The super neighborhood had 8,169 housing units. Of the 7,401 occupied units, 3,573 were rental units and 3,828 were owner units. The Super Neighborhood had 3,518 families with a total of 9,521 individuals. Afton Oaks/River Oaks Super Neighborhood had a lower average family size than the average City of Houston family size. The Afton Oaks/River Oaks average was 2.71, while the city average was 3.39.

River Oaks is considered to be one of the wealthiest communities in Texas, and has one of the wealthiest zip codes in the United States. Residents are predominantly successful professionals, and real estate values range from $1 million to over $20 million.