b'I s there hope for real growth downtown and on theCaught Red Handed from page 112 and presumably Endless [Missed] Potential from page 101lowed by City zoning and which would require another 75% beautiful Corpus Christi bayfront? There is definite- vote by homeowners to change restrictionsbut when you ly hope and recent projects are encouraging signs.consider both La Palmera and Lamar Park Center equally as Without a doubt, the realignment of Shoreline Blvd.shopping malls, then the freedom to lie about a potential and reconstruction of Ocean Dr. north of Oleandershopping mall is uninhibited.Point have created one of the most beautiful stretch- They say that Jeff Blackard is in talks with Texas A&M es of roadway on the Gulf Coast, and maybe anywhere inCorpus Christi to turn Barisi into a student village, complete the country. With plentiful rains and improved investmentswith loud rock concerts, sporting events, in maintenance and amenities, our bayfront parks look bet- hoards of drunken college students crawling into backyards ter than ever. and menacing terrified homeowners. They also imply that DowntownfestivalslikeBuccaneerDays,Fiestadestudent apartment buildingslike those overlooking their la Flor, the Texas Jazz Festival and the Dia de los Muertosbackyards now on the north side of Pharaoh Valley, will soar festival are more popular than ever, and have led to otherfifty feet above existing homes, providing Islanders the high public events like the food truck festival. The long-await- perch they need to spy on your wife making meatloaf, while edopeningofTheCosmopolitanapartmentsintheoldchucking their beer bottles into your swim spa.Lichtenstein Department Store building led to sighs of re- Of course, the propagandists divert from the reality lief from downtown business owners, and young and afflu- that Blackard Global has specifically committed to a 100-ent new residents are now leading growth in the area. foot greenbelt between adjacent properties and new struc-The very big moves, however, like the constructiontures, and that those buildings closest to the greenbelt will of the new Harbor Bridge and the restoration of the 1914rise no more than two stories (like the house next door, 20 Nueces County Courthouse into a luxury hotel and eventfeet away), followed by structures that may rise as high as center, for example, take large anchor investments. Whilefour stories. The sightline from any backyard of an existing the new hotel on Shoreline is much better than its lot set- adjacent home would include nothing taller than two sto-ting empty for another year, it is not the scale of invest- ries, 100 feet away.ment that will move the needle significantly. A much-need- Inevitably, the opposition to Barisi Village is bound to ed convention hotel of 500 rooms or more, located in thelose. It will either end in state appeals court next year, or it SEA District near the American Bank Center, is an obviouswill end at the Texas Supreme Court following that. The bill next step. that allowed Pharaoh Valley homeowners to vote on their While downtown waterfronts like those in Galvestonown fate was passed unanimously by the state legislature, and Santa Monica, California, feature entertainment areasand the Supreme Court, an elected body, is not likely to bla-built on piers, the Corpus Christi bayfront already has threetantly defy the will of the people. Furthermore, the oppo-amazingly unique, permanent extensions into the bay, oursition is heavily out-lawyeredthey have been soundly de-two T-Heads and the L-Head. Smart city leaders would befeated in federal and state court, and even if they employed on the phone daily to Tilman Fertitta, all but begging fortop-notch attorneys, again, the facts are not on their side another look at our marina as the site for the ultimate wa- nor is the common-sense filter of what is right and wrong.terfront entertainment zone on the Gulf Coast of Texas. TheWithout a determined and persistent developer, howev-shortsightedness of former Mayor Neal and his cohorts haser, it would have been over years ago, and the hope that came cost the city and county millions in lost tax revenue, andwith a potential, game-changing step forward in the history thousands of lost jobs, in the 14 years since Landrys threwof the Coastal Bend would have been killed in the crib like in the towel on Corpus Christi. so many before Barisi Village. The cabal of Ocean Drive Con-After the city spent millions improving one block ofspirators would have gotten away with it once againthat Chaparral St. that has benefited one business owner, weno one from out of town gets to make a dime here without should be bending over backward to attract a proven up- paying tribute to the citys birthright powerbrokers.scale dining anchor to that exact blockCheesecake Fac- Jeff Blackard has made an adopted family in Pharaoh tory, Papadeauxs, Mortons Steakhouse, Texas de Brazil orValley. They appreciate his not giving up on them. They Benihana, for example, would bring much needed diningappreciate what he wants to do to improve their neighbor-competition to downtown, and would provide a consistenthood, which has fallen so far into decay, and they appreciate draw for high-spending customers. In turn, more people inhis concern over their property value and what those good general would take time to travel downtown, and they willhomeowners will be able to pass on to their kids and grand-discover the smaller, independent establishments alreadykids. in operation while sparking new investment. Its not a com- And guess what? They dont mind if he makes a few plicated formula, but it takes will, effort and leadership. bucks in the process. Thats called freedom. Thats called San Antonio turned a dirty ditch into one of the coun- fair, American capitalism, and the right of property owners trys most popular destinations, the Riverwalk. In this pro- to organize for the good of their neighborhood is as Ameri-growth atmosphere, can we finally make the Corpus Christican as it gets.Bayfront reach its potential?TheCoastalBend.com THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINEFEATURED: The Stories that Mattered 129'