Greenwood Forest preserves community spirit, trees

"You gotta love trees to live here," said former Greenwood Forest Home Owners Association president Ben Bryant.

"All the nice trees, that's what I like," said longtime resident Don Hurst.

"That's one of the beauties of the neighborhood," agreed 25-year resident Barbara Jones. "We've tried to preserve the trees."

No doubt their pride is enhanced because so much of the nearby land along FM 1960 west, the neighborhood's northern boundary, has been stripped of trees for commercial growth in the past 20 years.

Greenwood Forest, an unincorporated municipal utility district that Houston has agreed not to annex for at least 29 more years, has stayed insulated from that cycle of destruction/construction.

Although there are shopping malls and apartments and current construction along the FM 1960 boundary, not much has intruded to alter the intended community feel.

The neighborhood's main thoroughfare, esplanade-divided Champion Forest Drive, is shady for most of its dozen or so blocks. So are the side streets, giving Greenwood Forest a well-established look not found in all planned communities, even of this age.

When the neighborhood was developed in 1970 by the Kickerillo Organizations it was a decidedly upscale suburb of large homes on 649 heavily wooded acres.

As one would expect from a neighborhood that started with primarily big expensive structures, most of the houses are originals. Still, 34 years is enough time for suburban areas to start showing their gray hair, so it's a little surprising to drive the gently curving streets and see that almost all of the homes and lots remain well maintained.

"There's been a lot of remodeling and redecorating," said Marilyn Marusa, a 29-year resident and former garden club president and women's club officer. In recent years the homeowners' association has taken a pro-active approach, Marusa said, encouraging anyone not keeping his house or yard up to standards to get with the program.

"They almost always do," she said.

It's hard to find even one neglected yard. Just a few days after the recent extended rains, most lawns looked cut and trimmed. The neighborhood yard-of-the-month sign is posted not just in the winner's front yard but also on a sign near the clubhouse.

Almost every home is brick-fronted, partly or entirely, and shingle-roofed. Two-story homes dominate, especially on the east side of Champion Forest Drive -- the mix is more balanced with one-story and one-and-a-half-story homes on the west side.

Some of the area's earliest residents were oil company executives, and the neighborhood has a number of near mansions, some with carriage houses. These are most prominent in the 5600 and 5500 blocks of Haven Woods, Theall and Foresthaven, just east of the esplanade. More modest homes throughout the rest of the community come in all styles. You can find a Louisiana plantation influence on one side of the street and an English-castle look, complete with turrets, on the other.

The Stepford Wives movies can mock the warmth of neighborly suburban lifestyle all they want, but residents of Greenwood Forest find nothing cornball about bragging about their area.

"The beauty of living here is this is almost like a small town within a large city," Jones said. "We have our schools within our subdivision, elementary, middle and high school. We have hospitals within a few miles east or west of us."

Marusa, who lives on Spanish Oak, also likes the neighborhood for its activities.

"We have a lot of interest groups (that come) out of the 140-member women's club: a theater group, a book club, a quilting club, a genealogy club. We belong to the theater group."

"Huge tennis teams," said Javier Vela, who moved with his family to Greenwood Forest three years ago after visiting friends there for 20 years. "My wife's on the women's league in Greenwood Forest. (There's a) summer tennis league, which is very informal, every Sunday night. We get together and play doubles and drink wine and have appetizers. A pretty big following.

"We have a lot of swim meets at the (clubhouse) pool with other neighborhoods. Both my girls are on the swim teams."

The large pool and two-story, multiarea clubhouse at Champion Forest Drive and Lodge Creek, once private, merged with the Greenwood Forest homeowners' association about 10 years ago. One of the biggest of many neighborhood activities is the annual Fourth of July parade and pool party.

When Greenwood Forest was built, it was in the far north boonies. Houston has grown out to the area and beyond, but that didn't bring the neighborhood any closer to the inner city. It's a solid 20 miles from downtown, much of that on Interstate 45.

For many of the residents the distance from town is no problem since there is so much available right in the area. Kids can walk or bike to schools -- elementary, middle and high school are all together along Misty Valley -- and the shopping areas of Champions Village and Champions Forest Plaza border the neighborhood on the north.

"We could have moved away (when we retired)," Jones said, "but this has become such a convenient area I couldn't find anyplace else I'd rather be."