Texans who crave island living may have a new getaway near Corpus Christi.
Houston-based Ashlar Development will create an $800 million master-planned community on North Padre Island called Whitecap Preserve, according to the San Antonio Business Journal. More than 600 homes, a hotel, a marina and commercial development will span 240 acres with the Corpus Christi Bay to the west and the Gulf of Mexico to the east.
Renderings of Whitecap Preserve (Ashlar Development)
Construction may start as soon as this spring, the publication reported. City officials are considering public improvement district status for the project, which will add an assessment on the property to fund public infrastructure. Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo said the development will be a catalyst for economic activity on the island and in the mainland city.
Whitecap Preserve will rise on a site that was once home to a Schlitterbahn waterpark. Diamond Beach Holdings acquired the site through bankruptcy court in 2018 and rebranded the resort the following year, SABJ reported. Not long after, Diamond Beach closed the resort because of the pandemic’s impact on tourism in 2020. Last August, the waterpark was demolished along with a 92-room hotel and an outdoor theater.
“This project has been in discussions with the city for a couple of years in various forms and concepts of development,” said Iain Vasey, president and CEO of the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corporation. “The Padre Island part of Corpus Christi has not seen this amount of investment in many years, so it will be very exciting to observe the development of this project over time.”
Diamond Beach Holdings, the city of Corpus Christi and the Flour Bluff independent school district are development partners on the project, according to city documents. Place Designers is the architect.
Ashlar’s portfolio includes master-planned communities near Austin, Houston, Dallas and Mount Juliet, Tennessee, according to its website.
[SABJ] — Kathryn Hardison
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