Sharpstown Mall, located on the corner of Bellaire Boulevard and Southwest Freeway, is now being transformed into a Latin American themed mall called PlazAmericas.
Once named “Best Hip-hop Mall” by the Houston Press (read more here), the mall will undergo a $10 million renovation to target the Hispanic community. The mall will have a play area for children, an 83,000 square foot mercado and several stages for live entertainment.
Why the sudden change? Well it’s not too unexpected as the Hispanic population is the majority in that area and continues to grow steadily, while the white population decreases and the number of blacks stays about the same.
According to the official city of Houston website, these are the estimated race demographics for council district F which is the Sharpstown area.
2000
White: 39,186
Black: 49,810
Native American: 373
Asian: 34,378
Pacific: 75
Other: 477
Two or More: 4,534
Hispanic: 96,306
2009
White: 27,570
Black: 51,864
Native American: 354
Asian: 38,278
Pacific: 74
Other: 382
Two or More: 4,367
Hispanic: 125,241
In 2014, it’s expected the numbers will look as follows:
White: 23,021
Black: 51,612
Native American: 350
Asian: 40,311
Pacific: 74
Other: 340
Two or More: 4,263
Hispanic: 139,743
The numbers say it all and just as the Hispanic population continues to increase in the Sharpstown area it continues to increase in Texas and the entire U.S.
According to the US Census, Hispanics remain the largest minority group.
With a 3.3 percent increase between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, Hispanics were the fastest-growing minority group.
The nation’s Hispanic population increased 1.4 million to reach 45.5 million on July 1, 2007, or 15.1 percent of the estimated total U.S. population of 301.6 million.
California (13.2 million) had the largest Hispanic population of any state as of July 1, 2007, followed by Texas (8.6 million) and Florida (3.8 million). Texas had the largest numerical increase between 2006 and 2007 (308,000), followed by California (268,000) and Florida (131,000). In New Mexico, Hispanics comprised the highest proportion of the total population (44 percent), with California and Texas (36 percent each) next in line.
For this reason among many others, many are anxious to see the census results. Certainly, they will be an eye-opener for some. Maybe one day Hispanics will no longer be labeled as a minority?
