Corpus Christi, Texas

A Cultivated Gem Along a Beautiful Shoreline

A Coastal Hub, Rich with History, Industry, and Progress

With a nod to its past, Corpus Christi, the largest city on the Texas coast and home to the nation’s sixth-largest port, is welcoming growth and modern development. Incorporated in 1852, the city is renowned for its unique combination of natural assets, industries, and a growing tourism sector. With its beautiful beaches and bays, diverse economy, and rich agricultural backdrop, Corpus Christi is a thriving community that welcomes new opportunities.

A Changing Downtown Landscape

Downtown Corpus Christi is the city’s heart, as Assistant City Manager, Heather Hurlbert, portrays, “We have a downtown Marina, and it sits right on the bay. It is unique, and it is gorgeous. We have a large seawall that runs along the bay area that borders that downtown area, so you get a good mix of that vacation and business feel.”

A tax increment financing zone has been established to encourage investment back into the downtown. “We work very closely with our Downtown Management District to help attract new businesses and identify projects in the area,” notes Hurlbert. Part of the effort includes introducing more accommodation to the city core, with projects ranging from the conversion of office spaces into apartments to the transformation of an old vacant hotel into residential housing. “We have a new hotel being built, and there is a lot of sprucing up of existing businesses,” Hurlbert expands. “That synergy is starting to roll, and we’re seeing a lot of attraction into downtown.”

From unique restaurants to boutique shops, the downtown core is filled with homegrown businesses contributing to the city’s charm. As for business attraction, she shares, “We do have programs for those who want to come into the downtown area, where we can help with capital and startup costs, with renovation costs, especially if you are activating a vacant building, or making improvements or expansions.”

She adds that community events are crucial in drawing people into the area. The Downtown Management District has worked to expand the Art Walk, an event held on the first Friday of each month. “They’ve grown that. It is now attracting up to 20,000 people. They’ve got booths and merchants of all kinds, live music. And it’s become an event.”

Corpus Christi is also focused on enhancing the downtown experience for pedestrians. With the bay, just a few blocks from the city center, part of the long-term vision includes improving connectivity between the seawall area and downtown. “On one of the major streets, we’re looking at doing some improvements to be able to connect those two assets, to attract people off of the seawall area into the downtown area, and make that transition a little bit more seamless,” Hurlbert describes.

An Ideal Destination

Tourism plays a pivotal role in Corpus Christi’s economy. The American Bank Center, a premier sports and events venue brings a significant number of visitors to the community. Along with this, the city’s beaches and natural amenities make it a top destination for leisure and eco-tourism. The Convention and Visitors Bureau, known as Visit Corpus Christi, is nationally and internationally recognized for its marketing efforts. Hurlbert asserts, “They do a wonderful job marketing for us, and they have done a great job making those connections, going out, and marketing the city.”

Housing and Infrastructure

Similar to its civic counterparts, Corpus Christi is experiencing challenges in the housing market, with inventory levels struggling to keep up with demand. “Looking at the city as a whole, we do have tight inventory, so we are working with developers to continue to develop that single-family housing stock, and to diversify our housing,” Hurlbert explains.

One notable project involves the conversion of an abandoned hotel built in the 1970s. “It’s a rock solid hotel that has up to 400 rooms, and they’re converting it into workforce housing units,” she recounts. “We are going to help them a little bit with subsidies to help buy that rent down a little bit.” Hurlbert further highlights that this project is creating an opportunity to repurpose a vacant space without the need for extensive new infrastructure. Additionally, the building is five minutes from several of the city’s major industries, making it an ideal location for workforce housing.

As it grows, the city is investing in its critical infrastructure, including securing a sufficient water supply for the future. “We are moving forward with a desalination plant,” Hurlbert reports. “Over the past 50 years, we’ve secured surface water, which has worked well, but that is still very much dependent on rain. This will provide us with a drought-proof water supply.”  The first plant is expected to produce up to 50 million gallons per day, with the possibility of future expansion.

Preparing for the Future

As Corpus Christi continues to grow, workforce development remains a top priority. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi attracts many students to the community, and the city is collaborating with the university to find ways to retain graduates. Additionally, Del Mar College offers training programs tailored to meet the needs of local industries. “We’ve worked through some of our economic development programs to provide specialized engineering training, for instrumentation, for a lot of our plants including our petrochemical plants. We work very, very closely with them,” Hurlbert maintains.

The Texas Workforce Commission is also a main partner, offering valuable training to support the city’s workforce. To support this evolving economic landscape, Corpus Christi is engaging with industries and major employers to understand where the deficits are. “We are very cognizant of the fact that we do have to make sure that we  have properly trained people to staff those industries and businesses, so we can continue to thrive.”

New Opportunities

The city is currently exploring options for co-locating new developments at the municipal airport. “We have a lot of areas out there that we can expand on. We are doing a lot of work to attract direct flights, to see how we can partner out there,” remarks Hurlbert. As for potential industries, she relays, “Hydrogen is a huge thing in our area, and it is a viable industry, but it is very heavily water and energy-dependent, and so we are working with our regional partners on how to best attract that new technology, and balance that with the resources that we have.”

In addition to the airport development, the nearby King Ranch, a large agricultural area, is exploring carbon capture initiatives. “We’ve got some interesting stuff going on,” she acknowledges. We are continuing to build our secondary retail markets. We are the retail hub of the area, and so we want to continue to attract those businesses that provide that quality of life and that quality of  spending in the area, as we’re attracting these people to our region.”

Quality of Life Amenities

Boasting over 190 parks, ranging from green spaces to fully developed recreational areas, the city is alive with the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. Corpus Christi is dedicated to reinvesting in its regional parks, ensuring they continue to serve as valuable recreational spaces for both residents and visitors. Along with this, the community is welcoming a new $10 million aquatic center, the first new swimming pool built in the area in 30 years.

Corpus Christi is also making significant improvements to its coastal areas. The North Beach area, a popular spot for both tourists and permanent residents, has recently seen the addition of a new park and bathroom facility right on the beach. Further enhancements are underway on North Padre Island near Packery Channel Park, where a new lifeguard and bathroom facility is nearing the end of its design phase and will soon begin construction.

“There’s several of those big assets that are going in through our bond program that will be going to the voters in November. We’ve got some other big park projects that will be coming through that too,” Hurlbert details. “We’ve got about a million dollars worth of amenities  that are planned for fiscal year 25 to go into a lot of our parks, including benches, water fountains, swing sets, things like that, just to kind of spruce some of them up.”

It Takes a Community

“We are a small region, we have to work together,” Hurlbert highlights some of the key entities that contribute to Corpus Christi’s success. She names the Nueces County government, the Port of Corpus Christi, and the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corporation as important partners in the city’s progress. Strong relationships with the Naval Air Station and the Corpus Christi Army Depot, are also valued, along with major industry partners, such as Valero, Flint Hills, Shamir, and Linde Basell.

Looking ahead, Hurlbert summarizes, “We have a lot of momentum going, and I think we’re going to see some great things coming forward in the next 18 to 24 months.”

AT A GLANCE

Corpus Christi, Texas

What: A thriving coastal city

Where: Nueces County, Texas

Website: www.cctexas.com