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Two Mega Resort Projects in the Works
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Corpus Christi Resort Projects Seek Big Spenders
By MAURA WEBBER SADOVI
Corpus Christi likes to bill itself as the place Texans go to play. While oil refineries remain a key driver of the area's economy, they have been overshadowed in recent years by its tourism industry, which offers minor league baseball, golf, fishing, boating and beaches to indulge Lone Star State residents' penchant for driving pickups on the sand. Now, two big resort developments are betting they can help Corpus Christi attract more and bigger-spending visitors -- Texans and non-Texans alike.
Both projects are poised to offer luxury in a region traditionally known more for lower-cost tourism and affordable housing. Local officials and developers want to compete with higher-profile destinations -- such as San Antonio, about 150 miles northwest of Corpus Christi, and more costly coastal areas in places like Florida -- by offering more amenities in what some boosters say is one of the nation's last waterfront real-estate bargains.
Newport Beach and Golf, a planned community on 1,400 acres located on Mustang Island, the barrier island just north of the city of Corpus Christi, is already under construction. The project is set to be valued at $4 billion when fully built out, according to the developer. It is slated to include 4,000 residential units -- with condominiums, largely expected to become second homes, starting at around $450,000, and single-family homes as high as $2.5 million -- in addition to as many as four hotels, a marina and two golf courses.
That is a big shift from the many limited-service hotels that dot the region, and steep prices for an area where second-quarter median home prices stood at $138,500, well below the national level of $227,500, according to the National Association of Realtors. Newport Beach and Golf expects to appeal to people from Houston, Austin and San Antonio as well as baby boomers from other areas of the country impressed by the area's mix of natural beauty and comparatively lower prices, says Craig Millard, a Palm Beach, Fla.-based majority partner in Texas Gulf & Harbor Ltd., which is developing the project. "It'll change the dynamics of Corpus Christi significantly," says Mr. Millard.
Unrelated plans for another resort project on North Padre Island have drawn more attention. Controversy has swirled around the city's decision to ask residents of Corpus Christi next month to vote for an amendment that would be the first step toward closing about a mile and a quarter of beachfront to motorists, which would pave the way for the project. Corpus Christi Mayor Henry Garrett says the move -- which flies in the face of Texas tradition -- is warranted because the development won't move ahead unless it can be assured that four-wheelers aren't part of its four-star beachfront vistas.
The move to pursue more tourism dollars is a conscious effort at diversification that city officials have been pursuing since the region was devastated by the oil bust of the late 1980s. Despite those efforts and higher oil prices, the area's job growth is below the U.S. average, at under 1% in August compared with the year-earlier month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Recently, smaller oil-field service companies have helped strengthen the local warehouse market, but the office sector hasn't benefited much, as large oil companies that consolidated white-collar jobs into the Houston area after the last oil downturn never returned, says Chris Adame, commercial appraiser and an associate with Joe Adame & Associates Inc. in Corpus Christi. By contrast, the retail market is expanding as more companies take note of the buying power in the region, home to about 414,000 residents.
One cloud looming on the horizon, particularly for resort projects on the water, is the potential for hurricanes that could threaten the beaches on which Corpus Christi is now pinning its hopes. A spokesman for the Corpus Christi Office of Emergency Management says the region hasn't suffered a severe blow since Hurricane Celia hit in 1970. But that could change, says Jim Lee, an economist with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. "We've been lucky," says Mr. Lee. |
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By
host @
Saturday, October 28, 2006 12:58 AM |
A survey conducted by university students shows most respondents would vote against closing a stretch of Padre Island beach to vehicle traffic, a statistical dead heat in the county judge's race and the Republican candidate slightly leading the sheriff's race.
Bob Bezdek, a Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi professor whose campaign politics class interviewed Nueces County residents, said the survey is a snapshot of voter intentions. However, he pointed out the data wasn't entirely reflective of likely voters.
The survey, which was conducted by telephone from Oct. 9 to Oct. 24, included results from 450 Nueces County residents who voted in the 2006 primary.
He said the survey could be skewed because respondents were older than likely voters, primarily because younger people are not easily interviewed.
"(Older voters) are the ones at home," Bezdek said. "They're the ones who answer the phone. Young people have cell phones; we can't reach them."
The average age of voters in 2004 was 50, Bezdek said, while respondents to the survey were on average 61. He said the survey also included slightly too many females and too many respondents with high incomes.
The survey has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
County Clerk Diana Barerra said records are not kept on the demographics or economic status of registered voters.
The survey, conducted mostly by political science majors, asked respondents who they planned to vote for in some county elections. In the Nueces County judge's race, respondents selected Republican Loyd Neal over Democrat Larry Olivarez 50 percent to 40 percent, with 10 percent undecided.
More respondents - 50 percent - picked Jim Kaelin over Jimmy Rodriguez, who garnered 35 percent.
A survey released Thursday by Mikal Wattss Good Government political action committee shows slightly different results. That survey, conducted by phone from Oct. 1 to Oct. 3, contained 400 respondents and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Watts' survey indicates Neal and Olivarez each have about 41 percent of respondents' votes, while Kaelin has about 38 percent and Rodriguez has about 36 percent.
"We've run three polls in the county judge's race," Watts said. "All of them have been a statistical dead heat. It's a tie."
Regarding the city's beach issue in Bezdek's poll, 53 percent of respondents would vote against Charter Amendment No. 1, 28 percent would vote for it and 19 percent of were undecided.
Charter Amendment No. 1 would authorize the City Council to ban vehicles from 7,200 feet of beach, from the Packery Channel south jetty to the northern boundary of Padre Balli Park. Developers and amendment supporters have said that the pedestrian-only beach is necessary to attract a $1.5 billion resort.
The survey did not contain a question about Charter Amendment No. 2, also on the city ballot, that would allow residents to vote on all future vehicle ban proposals. Bezdek said the question was hard for voters to understand and had not received as much publicity.
The charter amendment survey question could contain some people who live outside the city limits, Bezdek said. That's one of the reasons Colleen McIntyre, spokeswoman for It's About Time Corpus Christi, which is supporting the ban, said the survey is flawed.
"This is not a representative sample and cannot be taken seriously," McIntyre said. "Bob Bezdek has no credibility on this issue."
McIntyre also took issue with the wording of the beach question, which differs from the ballot language.
The students asked the question: "Do you plan to vote for or against the proposition to close 7,200 feet of beach to vehicles on Padre Island?" The ballot language asks voters whether they are for or against an amendment "providing for a public pedestrian-safe beach limited to the approximately 7,200-foot area between Packery Channel and the north boundary of Padre Balli Park."
"I like our wording better," Bezdek said. "It's simple and easy to understand."
The charter amendment question had two parts. Students first asked respondents whether they planned to vote in the city election. About 90 percent said yes, which is far greater than the number that would be expected to vote, he said. Only those who said they planned to vote were asked their stance on the charter amendment.
Mike McCutchon, spokesman for the anti-ban Beach Access Coalition, said the survey numbers did not surprise him.
"I have a lot of people tell me that they registered to vote just so they could vote on the issue," McCutchon said. |
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By
Mike @
Sunday, October 29, 2006 10:24 PM |
Cars on Beach vs. Grow Economy
The name for "It's About Time Corpus Christi" came about during a meeting last spring, when members were discussing strategies to promote a resort planned for Padre Island.
"We were in the meeting saying, 'It's about time we did this,' and 'It's about time we did that,' " group co-chairwoman Gail Hoffman said.
The committee came together just as simply, Hoffman said, with engineers, contractors, financial institutions, Realtors, worker unions and other businesses joining the fight by donating time and money.
"We've never really had to call somebody and say, 'Will you help us?' " Hoffman said. "They call us. The business community has stepped forward to say we've got to do this to help Corpus Christi thrive."
The group has hit the streets with signs, bumper stickers and more than 60 speaking engagements to ask voters to support Charter Amendment No. 1, which members say is necessary to attract a $1.5 billion resort.
The quest started a year ago, with a smaller group called Just Feet on the Beach that formed to dissuade residents from signing a petition against the city's proposal to ban traffic on the 4,200 feet in front of the Padre Island seawall. Then, developer Paul Schexnailder told the City Council a resort would come if they enacted a vehicle ban on 7,200 feet, stretching from the Packery Channel south jetty to the northern boundary of Padre Balli Park.
The council rescinded the first ban and approved one in March for 7,200 feet, invalidating the petition Just Feet on the Beach was fighting. The group's opposition mobilized again for another petition, and Just Feet changed its focus and its name.
"We thought Just Feet on the Beach was real cute, but we realized that our message was far more than just getting cars off the beach," Hoffman said. "It's about the job development. It's about time Corpus Christi took control."
The petitions forced the ban on the ballot, along with Charter Amendment No. 2, which would allow voters to decide all future vehicle ban proposals. Now, It's About Time Corpus Christi is working hard to promote Amendment No. 1, but it hasn't taken a position on No. 2.
Although Hoffman said she is disappointed the petitions were successful, she understands it is part of the democratic process.
"I have a degree in government," she said. "To me, this just is fun."
Hoffman, like many of the group's leaders, has experience in similar fights - she was co-chair of the committee that successfully campaigned for voters to finance Packery Channel in 2001. Realtor Gene Guernsey said he's been involved in every pro-growth vote in the past 20 years.
"For me, it's all about trying to help this community move forward and create prosperity for members of the community," Guernsey said. "It's part of my civic duty to help grow the economy in Corpus Christi."
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