b'C o m m u n i t yLa Palmera is the $50 million redevelopment of Padre- The Redevelopment that Almost Never DevelopedStaples Mall that Corpus Christi power brokers tried to stop. Padre-Staples Mall opened in 1970, early in the massive indoor mall-building boom that lasted through the 1980s. In the early 2000s, $12 million was invested in a new food court and front entrance, and shortly thereafter, the mall went under contract to sell to Fort Worth-based Trademark Property that planned to invest $50 million in expansion and upgrades. Apparently the Corpus Christi Good Ole Boys couldnt find a way in, and before long, real estate agents were visiting high-end mer-chants in the mall and in small shopping centers along South Alameda promoting a prospective luxury outdoor mall to be built off the Crosstown Expressway near Greenwood. The agents took expressions of interest from the merchants and represented them as commitments to lease in front of City Council, all in an effort to kill the sale of the mall. No one seemed to question the possibility that a Julian Gold customer was going to drive to Greenwood to do luxury shopping. One call from Trademark CEO Terry Montesi to his friend, the CEO of Dillards, confirmed that they would not be moving their Corpus Christi store, saving the sale and delivering to the Coastal Bend the beautiful La Palmera that we have today.While over 105,000 Corpus Christians voted in the generalat the cost of what is good for the community at-large. In fact,Landrys CEO Tilman Fertitta was very public is saying that he election for mayor, turnout for the runoff was about 28,000 this painful purge of impurity at major taxing authorities istook the $100 million he intended to invest in Corpus Christi and those were the ones who really cared and were not castingimperative for any town to attract the kind of private invest- and went to San Antonioall because he refused to commit to a vote for mayor as a side dish to the presidential election. Gua- ments that will benefit the most people. In Corpus Christi, ifhire a local contractor.jardo took 56% of the vote in a runoff race that was as muchthe good ole boys had their way, Padre-Staples Mall would about rejecting the citys old guard power structure, as it wasnot have been redeveloped into La Palmera. Thankfully, theThe unlikely election of Mayor Paulette Guajardo marked a about choosing a fresh leader who was willing to stand frontdeveloper knew how the game was played, and circumventedturning point in how the Coastal Bends largest municipality and center when citizens need to hear a single voice. the naysayers. does business, and for all intents and purposes, the end to a There is no shame in a growing city going through the pro- More often than not, however, they have run the big moneysystem that favors a few while keeping outsiders out. The may-cess of cleansing a generations-old system of power brokerageout of town lest they play ball by delivering a piece of the actionor was kind enough to tell us how she sees Corpus Christis and preference that distributes public wealth to a select few,into the hands of a chosen few. More than two decades ago,potential, and the strategies it will take to achieve it.38 THE COASTAL BEND GUIDE TheCoastalBend.com'