Prime beachfront property on the Gulf of Mexico, Sunrise Shores, Mustang Island, Texas

Developers Lining Up On Island Road
By Mary Henkel Judson
South Jetty EDITOR
May 25, 2006

One look at the construction under way along State Highway 361 on the south side of the city, and it is clear that Port Aransas is on the grow.
Single-family homes, multi-family units, commercial tracts and a golf course are under construction or about to begin construction along State Highway 361 from Avenue G south to the city limits.
City and water district officials say they are prepared for the growth, and that infrastructure is either in place of will be when “build-out” takes place over the next several years.
Planning and projects director for the City of Port Aransas, David Parsons, summarized the projects in that area that will impact the city’s ad valorem tax base and, eventually as people fill those buildings, sales tax rebates.
One of the most visible of the projects is Newport Beach and Golf Village North. Ground was broken late last year on the development led by a signature Arnold Palmer golf course. The 18-hole golf course will surround, and extend southward from, the multi-use development that will include a high-end hotel as well as high-end retail shops and restaurants, single and multi-family residential areas.
Newport Beach and Golf Village North is being developed by Texas Harbor, Ltd.
It is located on the east side of State Hwy. 361 between Beach Access Road 1A and the Pioneer RV Resort.
Texas Harbor, Ltd. also is the permitting process for two other multi-use developments, one to include another golf course, on the bay side of the highway.
Another high profile project that has been under way since last year is The Moorings, a residential waterfront community that fronts State Highway 361 at the Island Moorings subdivision.
Backing up to Avenue G, Parsons said tentative plans for the corner of Avenue J and Alister (which turns into State Highway 361) involve a commercial project. South of that, just past the water tower, a commercial development now known as Pleasant Valley will include a new facility for Bilmore and Sons Hardware and a small strip center on the east side of the highway.
Across the highway south of the power sub-station, plans for Alissa’s Port Aransas subdivision are in the making, although Parsons said a plat has not been filed. Though referred to as a subdivision, the plans are for commercial development by an Irving-based firm.
Back on the west side of the highway behind Paradise Health and Fitness Center, a project called Paradise Point (unrelated to the fitness center) is in the planning stages. It will include about 100 lots as well as some commercial lots facing the highway. Vision Land Group of Austin is behind this project.
Adjacent to Paradise Point is a project in the preliminary stages called Wing Haven Estates. It includes 75 single-family lots. An Oklahoma firm led by president Deborah Wall is developing this project.
While an area of land owned by the Texas General Land Office (GLO) on the east side of the highway bounded on the south side by Beach Access Road 1A has a “for sale” sign on it, the offer has been removed. Some of the area includes wetlands that are undevelopable.
The city owns the land on the west side of the highway adjacent to the airport, and Parsons said the airport advisory board is meeting tomorrow, Friday, May 26, to discuss possible uses for that land.
South of El Cortez Condominiums, a 60-acre mixed use planning community called Cinnamon Shore is already moving dirt. It will include single and multi-family lots, including “live-above” style residential/commercial units. It is being developed by a Georgia-based firm call Isla Oasis LP.
Farther south, adjacent to Gulf Waters RV Resort, plans for a 105-lot single-family residential development called Deseo Dos are under way. This project is by Zohouri Developers, a nationally known development company based in Georgia.
Throughout town, what Parsons calls “infill” development is taking place. Both sides of Eleventh Street are filling up with small condominiums and town homes as well as single and multi-family residential projects. Scattered throughout the residential areas of town there is evidence of construction, primarily of single-family dwellings.
City finance officer, Judy Lyle, said the economic impact of all these developments would be significant.
Build-out of projects under way now will add $1,063,000 to the city’s tax rolls at the current tax rate of 37.8-cents, an almost 50 percent increase, Lyle said. Based on the previous school finance formula, it would add $4,360,000 to the school district’s tax rolls, she added.
Can the infrastructure handle the growth?
According to Nueces County Water Control and Improvement District Manager Mary Moss, the answer is, “Yes.”
“We do have plans to increase the capacity of the sewer plant and water system,” she said.
“We start procedures as the need arises. We have implemented capital impact fees to collect fees necessary to be able to cover improvements so developers pay as they go,” Moss said.
When developers present plans to the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, they must submit infrastructure plans to support their developments. These plans are necessary to get a P&Z recommendation that is then sent to the city council for final approval.
City Manager Michael Kovacs said, “If everyone arrived today, we wouldn’t be ready.”
However, that is not the case. “Most developments are two to three years out. We can see the progression and can forecast with fairly good certainly what our needs will be; so, municipal planning theory says we should be okay,” Kovacs said.
“To operate as a traditional American city, it (growth) will contribute more than it will cost. The net effect will be a benefit: we’ll see tax rates fall, or we’ll see additional city services because we’ll be more affluent as a city government,” he added.
The city is in the process of developing a comprehensive plan in which infrastructure and city services, including traffic, will be addressed.
Revenues derived from the new growth will fund municipal services required by it.
“Over the course of the next several years, as the city becomes more urbanized, we’ll look at a combination fire department (part paid, part volunteer), but that would involve a major spike in municipal costs,” Kovacs said.
“Looking at how growth works around the country, we’re compact enough, and we’re doing it smart enough to address all the needs, and the taxes will bring in whatever is needed (to fund those needs),” he said.
“If you’re a taxpayer trying to get the lowest possible rate, be concerned about the expectations of the people who buy these homes. They’re coming from around the country. Whether they’re from L.A. or Denver, they’re going to have expectations of what a city should be doing. Do they want street sweepers, police officers who are paid enough to live in the community? Do they want pristine, spotless beaches? That will drive up the cost of city services. Personnel is our biggest expense; we’d have to have a bigger work force to keep things up to snuff,” Kovacs said.
“It’s hard to say. (The new residents) could be comfortable with limited government and a low tax rate, or there could be those who want a very active government with facilities and amenities and high expectations,” he said.
Bottom line, according to Kovacs, with what’s on the table now, the city is “in pretty good shape,” to handle the growth.