Kevin Price of Coastal Custom Homes works on a house under construction on Tarrant Avenue, just east of North Street, on a recent morning. More photos of construction around Port Aransas are on pages 5A and 1B.
As of this time last year, City Hall had issued 115 residential building permits and 10 commercial permits valued at a total of $40.8 million.
So far this year, some 70 residential permits and four commercial permits have been issued. Total value: $22.4 million.
Just south of Mustang Beach Airport, construction is underway on a 12-unit project called Airport Marina Townhomes. The townhomes are being built by developer Bryan Gulley.
Some large projects are at the stage right now where preliminary work like road and utility installation is taking place, but the developers haven’t quite gotten around to applying for the many building permits they’ll need to start construction on the actual houses. Examples of those developments include Sunflower Beach, the Port Street Subdivision and Beach Side Town Homes.
This drawing shows what a new hotel called The Place is expected to look like after remodeling of an existing building takes place at Cotter Avenue and Cut-Off Road. Work on the structure is underway.
The scopes of projects around Port Aransas range widely. In some cases, individual homes are being built on vacant lots within already-developed areas of Old Town. In other cases, projects with dozens of houses are planned on the outskirts of town.
Demolition is underway at the former Beachway RV Park on Station Street, just south of the Venetian Hotplate restaurant. The RV park is being replaced by Camp Coyoacan, an ‘urban boutique campground.’
The Place
The biggest building in the shopping center at Cotter Avenue and Cut-Off Road is being converted into a motel, according to the city’s building department. Documents on file at City Hall say the lodging will be called “The Place.”
An artist’s rendering shows what Beach Side Town Homes are expected to look like after they’re built on 11th Street, where Grace Community Church once stood. The development will contain 45 units built in a “coastal brownstone” style with an “eastern flair,” said Alex Harris, a partner in the development.
Owned by a company called 445 Cotter LLC, the hotel is expected to have about 30 rooms in the complex’s largest building. Additional units could be built on the property in the future.
Sunflower Beach
Located on the east side of State Hwy. 361, just south of Palmilla Beach Resort & Golf Club, the 30-acre Sunflower Beach development contains about 100 home sites, according to Mike Tomnitz, sales manager at the development.
Tomnitz said he expects three condominium buildings eventually to be built, with ground to be broken in October on the first one, which will contain 21 units.
Water and sewer lines have been installed. Electric and cable lines should be in within the next three to six weeks, Tomnitz said.
The development will be accessible by way of the newly built Sunrise Avenue, branching south off Beach Access Road 1. Plans call for the neighborhood to include a total of eight streets and a public restaurant.
Tomnitz said it will be an architecturally controlled development with a variety of styles including craftsman, contemporary, Victorian and “beach vernacular.”
The subdivision will boast a lot of green space, including three “major parks,” two smaller ones and sidewalks throughout the area, Tomnitz said.
Sunflower Beach, which won’t be a gated community, will include two neighborhood swimming pools, cabanas and a “live performance/entertainment space,” he said.
Camp Coyoacan
Beachway RV has been cleared out to make room for Camp Coyoacan, which will be an “urban boutique campground that strives to provide an inspired lodging experience,” according to materials provided by co-owner Craig Scott of Port Aransas.
Scott said he hopes to have the campground open this fall.
Located on Station Street, on the south side of the Venetian Hotplate restaurant, the campground will be composed of an eclectic mix of vintage RVs and luxury bungalows including tent cabins and yurts, Scott said. (While it can take on varying forms, a yurt often takes on the look of a circular tent covered with different materials on a collapsible framework.) About 25 units will be available, he said.
A teepee will be open during the day where guests may gather. The grounds also will include indoor and outdoor fire pits, hammocks, washer pits, bocce ball lanes and a two-story deck with views of the Gulf.
The entire camp could be rented for weddings, group retreats or family reunions, Scott said.
Some 22 RVs were located at Beachway RV when it closed earlier this year. Most of the RVs then moved on, but Scott said demolition on the property has included removal of 10 dilapidated trailers that were abandoned.
Port Street Subdivision
Developer Nick Lorette said he expects workers to begin clearing land along Port Street this week for a subdivision that ultimately is expected to mean construction of 115 single-family homes on about 12 acres of land.
Utility and other infrastructure installation is expected to immediately follow, lasting about eight months, he said. That includes building roads. The neighborhood will be crisscrossed with five new streets.
Some 30 to 40 homes are expected in the first phase of construction.
The Fountains
Erol Hanmore is developing The Fountains, which will be condominiums on South 11th Street, just north of Park Place.
The first phase of construction will include a building with 10 units, plus a clubhouse and a swimming pool, said Boyer, of the city’s planning department.
Eight additional buildings could be built later, according to Boyer.
Gulf Village
The Port Aransas Development Company is planning to build 12 houses, to comprise a neighborhood called Gulf Village.
The development will be on the east side of South 11th Street, just south of Park Place. Land has been cleared, but no construction on buildings has started.
Beach Side Town Homes
A $10.3 million project, Beach Side Town Homes will contain 45 units built in a “coastal brownstone” style with an “eastern flair,” said Alex Harris, a partner in the development.
The two- and three-story buildings will be built on 11th Street where the old Grace Community Church building stood before being demolished earlier this year.
Harris, of Corpus Christi, said he expects the first three buildings to be finished by May. Other partners are Craig Kerr and Willard Hammonds Jr., both of Corpus Christi.
TCJP Development
Ethan’s Landing, Third Coast, Chloe’s Landing, Fisherman’s Cove and Vivienne’s View Villas are among Port Aransas projects underway by TCJP Development.
Ethan’s Landing is at Station Street and Ethan’s Landing, a private street. The development will consist of seven houses, three of which are finished, said Nathan Clark, TCJP manager. Construction is underway on the other four, he said.
Third Coast lies at Avenue J and Station Street. Eight houses are finished, and four are under construction. Two vacant lots remain.
Chloe’s Landing is a private street that branches from Sea Shell Drive, off 11th Street. Clark said he expects to have property for eight houses platted within the next month on Chloe’s Landing.
Fisherman’s Cove is planned for an area between State Hwy. 361 and Station Street, across the highway from the shops at Tower Center.
The development will have 21 single-family homes plus 22 houses that will be detached condominium units, Clark said, adding that he expects construction to begin around May.
Clark said construction continues on Vivienne’s View Villas – four detached condominium units just north of Tower Center, which also was built by TCJP Development.
Work on Vivienne’s View Villas, he said, is to be wrapped up in about five weeks.
Clark said some of his developments were named after his children: Spencer Ethan Clark, 9; Vivienne Clark, 3 and Chloe Clark, 11. The family lives in San Antonio and has a home in Port Aransas.
Cinnamon Shore
Cinnamon Shore has 15 houses and six townhomes under construction, according to Lee Ann Peters, sales director at the State Hwy. 361 subdivision. Three of the townhomes were being finished last week.
Cinnamon Shore is planning on breaking ground in one to two months on 10 Town Center, a 14-unit condominium building, Peters said.
During the same period, ground will be broken on 5 Town Center, a mixed-use building with about 4,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor and five townhome units above the retail.
The development has about 15 single-family home plans currently in design review. Construction on those is expected to begin within three months, according to Peters.
Cinnamon Shore has about 135 homes standing now. When it’s finished, it will have about 200 single-family residences and about 86 condominium units and townhomes, Peters said.
Palmilla Beach Resort & Golf Club
Officials at Palmilla Beach Resort & Golf Club expect to finish Seagate condominiums this fall, said Harry Adams, executive vice president of real estate and development with McCombs Enterprises, Palmilla’s developer. Seventy-five percent of the units are under contract, he said.
Adams said he anticipates “massive landscaping improvements” and “amenity improvements” soon on the grounds of the Village North portion of Palmilla’s property. That includes building a pavilion, he said.
Seven homes have been built in Village North, and construction is starting on six more this fall, Adams said. Building will get started on another 10 to 15 in the winter, he said.
At full build-out, Village North eventually will have about 160 single- family homes. It includes sites for up to 10 condominiums and two hotels, Adams said.
Treasure Island
The torrential rains that hit Port Aransas during the spring and early summer slowed down work that was underway to remodel the space formerly occupied by the Tarpon Ice House bar.
But Linda and Tommy Saad continue to plug away with the refurbishing. They plan to open a nightclub called Treasure Island at the 315 N. Alister St. location in just a few more months, Linda said. It will include a live music played from a new stage.
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