69 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 10 CORPUS CHRIST I , TE XAS By 1926, the Port of Corpus Christi had opened for business. Today, the port is known as “The Energy Port of the Americas” and is the third largest in the U.S. in cargo tonnage with deepwater facilities for bulk liquid and dry cargo, as well as agricultural products. The city’s economy centers around the petrochemical industry, but other economic drivers include large-scale fabrication, marine research, aerospace, and, most especially, tourism. The area is known for its beautiful beaches; its hunting, fishing, boating, and water sports opportunities; its bird and wildlife sanctuaries; and its rich cultural offerings. The city is also home to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, which was first commissioned in 1941, and today is one of the city’s largest employers. While the petrochemical industry is still central to the local economy, over the last few decades, many oil and gas companies moved their headquarters from Corpus Christi to Houston and, according to the city’s Redevelopment Officer, Jason Alaniz, the situation presents both a challenge and an opportunity. “Since about 1985, we’ve had a struggle,” he admits. “So, right now, we’re working to help reposition the market for some of those vacant office towers into mixed-use, with a big component of that being housing, whether that’s apartments or condos,” Alaniz explains. “It’s also about repurposing things closer to the city core so that we can better utilize city infrastructure. Recently, we offered a new incentive program for the downtown area for office-toresidential conversion and we’re recruiting for state and national developers. We’ve also noticed vacant and underutilized properties and we want to see how we can better repurpose those into their highest and best use, whether it’s infill projects or greenfield construction.”
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