CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Future of Harbor Island.

This image below shows Harbor Island.

It is located within the city limits of Aransas Pass and Port Aransas.
The Port of Corpus Christi owns land on Harbor Island.
On the Port Aransas side.
This is the terrain highlighted in the image below.

Eric Canales

In recent years, when the port wanted to install a crude oil export terminal on Harbor Island, a public dispute arose.

The city of Port Aransas refused access to this terminal and this year the port finally stopped pursuing this project.

So … with that behind them … what does the future of Harbor Island look like now?

Here’s what Port of Corpus Christi CEO Sean Strawbridge had to say.

“Harbor Island is a unique property close to the Gulf and open waters. It is also unique in its traditional use. It was the largest import port for crude oil for decades. Exxon used to import foreign sources of crude for its Humble Refinery which existed in Ingleside. So if you look at Google Earth you can see the many uses of Harbor Island over the past 70 years and there is no reason for us to believe that it cannot be used again for the export of goods. . “

Michel salazar

“But certainly, the city of Port Aransas has also changed in its makeup. It is not necessarily the sleepy little fishing village it once was. It is certainly emerging as a playground for some of the wealthiest. , certainly for recreational and fishing uses, it is an excellent starting point for bays and estuaries as well as for open water, deep sea and deep sea fishing. We are therefore not immune to modified uses. of Harbor Island that might be more in line with what the city leaders there and community members want, but we have statutory limitations and how we can develop a property. What we can’t do today. hui is that we cannot develop it for, for example, tourist type uses. We cannot call on a developer and have them develop a hotel, restaurants or stores there. It is not allowed by law today. The good thing about laws is that they can be changed and that’s what Judge Canales is trying to do right now is to introduce additional ways in which the port can invest in it. s community beyond industry.

Strawbridge says it’s not unusual for U.S. ports to engage in infrastructure and even develop real estate to boost investment.
Concrete example: the Port Authority of New York / New Jersey which built the World Trade Centers.
In San Diego, the waterfront there, all developed by the Port of San Diego.

One of the possible uses of Harbor Island Strawbridge is to build a desalination plant there because of its proximity to open water. TECQ returned this permit twice.

All parties have a little less than 30 days to review the information referred to the commission before holding a preliminary hearing.

We will keep you posted.