20 Oct Padre Island Board Approves $1.4M to Finish Michael J. Ellis Seawall Refresh

The governing board for North Padre Island’s tax increment reinvestment zone, or TIRZ, approved about $1.4 million Tuesday to cover what’s left of the cost of repairing and updating the Michael J. Ellis Seawall, per the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

The project had a funding gap, and the money will come out of a different TIRZ budget item, according to city engineering director Jeff Edmonds. The city agenda points to Sand Dollar, a street that’s still in the planning stage, which Edmonds said would likely be folded into a later bond issue.

The seawall sits between the beach and several condo and hotel properties. It protects the land behind it from Gulf storm surge, and it’s also turned into a favorite beach hangout for visitors and walkers.

A city memo lists fixes to the wall itself and new stairs and ramps down to the sand. The plan also adds shade structures with seating, decorative patterns in the concrete, and a plaza area with a swing set and bike racks.

TIRZ money can only be spent inside the zone. It comes from a share of the new property tax revenue generated there, contributed by participating taxing entities.

Edmonds put the project’s price tag at about $17 million in May, at a city community meeting, per KIII. He said then that construction could start soon after Labor Day and wrap up sometime next year. At the same meeting, local businessman Bill Newman said many residents object to putting shade structures and benches outside their condos for fear of blocked views, though he said the city assured them that wouldn’t happen. He added the project could help local business, particularly if a hotel is built nearby.