CORPUS CHRISTI — Trailers and heavy equipment will be one of the first indications that dirt is expected to turn soon near the Padre Island Golf Course — the site of a proposed Schlitterbahn water park and resort.
Those could appear as soon as the end of October, said developer Paul Schexnailder, of Asset Development. He briefed the city’s Island Strategic Action Committee Tuesday evening.
“There’s a lot going on that people just don’t see,” he said.
Financial paperwork is being finalized with the bank and the park’s design is being worked through by The Henry family, owners of the water park company. The final design is expected to be complete in the next few weeks. They’re trying to find a way to keep nine holes of the golf course open during construction, Schexnailder said.
The $41 million resort planned west of Park Road 22 is tentatively set to open March 1, 2014, ahead of spring break. Early designs showed the park would include a 65-acre water park with lodging, golf and restaurants. It will be built on the existing golf course and tied into a master plan for the area that includes a marina in Lake Padre, an extension of the residential canal system, hotels, condos and single-family homes on about 500 acres of mostly undeveloped land.
Under a $117 million incentive agreement with the city, Schlitterbahn must begin construction within the next six months and be finished with the first phase by summer 2013. The water park is required to be built two years after the project breaks ground, according to terms of the agreement.
Schlitterbahn is part of a proposed $552 million master plan for the island, which investors Willard Hammonds, Schexnailder and the Henry family are developing.
The entire project is expected to take at least 18 years to build under the incentive agreement with the city, which is for 25 years. Developers are responsible for infrastructure maintenance, such as dredging canals and repairing bulk heads.
The development is expected to generate about $259 million in revenue, after incentives, for the city’s taxing districts, including Del Mar College and Flour Bluff ISD.
A bulk of the tax incentives being offered — $78 million — are from hotel occupancy tax revenue within the area of the planned development. That means most of the incentives being offered rely on the performance of the proposed project, city staff said.
The city also plans to build a $6.8 million bridge along Park Road 22, which would connect Lake Padre to the residential canal system. The City Council has pledged to pay for that project with leftover 2008 bond money. Schexnailder has said it is a critical part of the project’s design because it would create a pedestrian waterfront connection along the canal system.
We are so excited to hear this from the Developers, This news is very big and our islanders are ready for it. Will keep you posted as more news develops ~Cheri
