New park center to open today

Dedication today STAFF PHOTO BY JUDY K. KRANTZ The I.B. Magee Beach Park multi-purpose center will be officially dedicated today, Thursday, Oct. 25, at 11 a.m. It is named in honor of I.B. Magee and his commitment to the community.

The new multi-purpose center at I.B. Magee Beach Park will be officially dedicated today, Thursday, Oct. 25, at 11 a.m.

Built at a cost of $1.8 million, the center replaces the old office building at the entrance to the park and the shower building. Both buildings will be demolished.

The new building includes 1,500 square feet of office space for park workers plus 3,000 square feet of public area. The public part of the center has a vending machine area, showers and a coin laundry for campers.

A third-floor observation deck commands views of the Gulf of Mexico and Aransas Channel, through which oceangoing ships pass on their way to and from the Port of Corpus Christi. Both the second-floor offices/showers and the observation deck are accessible by elevator.

The park was named to honor I.B. Magee Jr. of Port Aransas, co-owner of the Family Center IGA and a former builder and developer, who changed the construction industry in South Texas and made Port Aransas a better place to live through his commitment to its youth and nonprofit organizations. A plaque dedicating the park to Magee, who died in 2004, will be part of the public area of the center.

The center also will host a continuous video sponsored by The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute.

The park falls under the Nueces County Parks Department. It is open 7 a.m.-11 p.m. seven days a week; shower facilities are available to registered campers 24 hours a day.