b'S ix years ago, one of the most successful developers in Texasseason, either here or up there, let us be reminded of the price threw a lifeline to homeowners who reside on the abandonedwe pay for the Coastal Bend having so much less to offer than the and dilapidated Pharaoh Valley Golf Courseto buy the over- bigger Texas cities.grown and vagrant-friendly 42 acres and build a magnificent,For those of us who are not of the Ocean Drive class, per se, mixed-use village that includes a new, 9-hole golf course. Thethe mystery prevails of who and how the conspiracies come Italian-themed Barisi Village amounted to an investment of sometogether that target eager outside investors in Corpus Christi $300 million and would mark a significant step forward in the(specifically), with the sole purpose of wearing them out and long-term growth of the Coastal Bend. A no-brainer, right? Inrunning them off. And most of the time it works. The entrenched, just about every corner of the Earth, yes, it is a no-brainer. Whoold money Corpitos grew up at the end of an era when all aspi-would turn down such an opportunity? rants to the citys owners club passed only through their gates, In our January/February 2018 edition [Symptom of a Greaterand typically through their hands onto which a little piece of the Disease: The Barisi Village Challenge] we analyzed the resistanceaction would be smearedor there would be no action.to improving Pharaoh Valley from a birds eye perspective, in theBillionaireentrepreneurTilmanFertitta,chairmanof context of a long, painful list of missed development opportuni- Landrys, Inc., stood firm in his negotiations with then-Mayor ties in the Coastal Bend over the past 30 years or so. We alsoLoyd Neal to development the Corpus Christi Marina into an at-attempted to quantify the cost to our community of resisting thetraction similar to the Kemah Boardwalk, by resisting the Citys kinds of development that have fueled the historic growth of ourinsistence that he employ a local contractor. Neal killed the deal two biggest northern neighbors, San Antonio and Austin. As weand Fertitta took his $100 million to San Antonio. make plans to visit or receive our kids and grandkids this holidayJust before the collapse of North Padre Island real estate val-36 THE COOASASTTAL BEND MA TURED: The Stories that Mattered TheC omTheCooasastalBend.c108 THE C AL BEND MAGAGAZINEZINEFEAFall 2018 talBend.com'