b'The Gregory-Portland Independent School District has always been one of the best in the Coastal Bend, in terms of academic accomplishment, safety and student facilities, the construction of which has kept ahead of growth over the past four de-cades. New schools have opened recently in parts of town that were cow pastures or cotton fields as recently as when their first class of students were born. Two brand new elementary schools have opened since 2018, East Cliff on Broadway near North Shore, and W. C. Andrews on Moore Ave. in what is today considered the western edge of town, but will undoubtedly be in the middle of it all by the time its first, First Grade class gets to high school. The citizens of Gregory and Portland have done an admirable job of serving its children well, hiring and retaining dedicated, professional teachers, counselors and administrators, and investing in technology and facilities in the school district. The result is a better educated adult population who are filling skilled jobs at all points on the employment spectrum, and are now investing in businesses and homes in Portland.The biggest industrial developments in the U.S. like the Exxon-Saudi plastics plant in Taft, Cheniere and Corpus Christi LNG terminals, Occidental Petroleum and others are bringing in thousands of skilled workers, construction managers, truck drivers, ship pilots, and engineers, along with associated professionals in highly paid fields, to the Coastal Bend. Currently a town of about 21,000 residents over ten square miles, Portland could realistically double in size over the next decade. Like Corpus Christi, however, continued growth has no room to the east or south (the bay) or the north (industrial development), so the sprawl is headed west, where mega-sized apartment complexes have been built and occupied quickly, and new subdivisions are popping up and selling out rapidly.The ISDs new elementary school on what is currently the farthest-west stretch of Moore Ave. is a marker of the direction of growth. Cotton fields of over 100 acres, and even at least one waterfront parcel almost as large, are for sale just west of the new school. Without a doubt, these and other plots of land will be occupied by new neighborhoods, parks and public facilitiesand while Portlands only commercial corridor is astride the main highway through town, US-181, future commercial de-velopment will be needed to serve new residents living west along Moore Ave., as well as in Gregory and Taft, northwest of Portland on the way to Sinton.In addition to great schools, new public facilities, and new neighborhoods, Port-land is one of the safest communities in the Coastal Bend, and the most fiscally sound. Best of all, the cost of land and homes is still comparatively lownew resi-dents are finding more for their money and a great lifestyle in Portland.62 THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINEFall 2019 TheCoastalBend.com'