CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Nueces County commissioners expressed frustration over the lack of progress on the Barisi Village development project during a recent update.
"Let's cut to the chase, what the heck is really going on here?" asked Brent Chesney, County Commissioner for Precinct 4.
Developer Jeff Blackard first proposed the project in 2012. The plan would transform the old Pharaoh Valley Country Club into an Italian village development featuring restaurants, shops, housing, a hotel and golf course.
A Tax Increment Re-investment Zone (TIRZ) was created last year to fund the project. The City of Corpus Christi, Del Mar College and Nueces County are all part of that TIRZ.
Assistant City Manager Heather Hurlbert informed county commissioners that the project remains in the engineering and architectural stage, with no actual construction expected for another year to year and a half.
This timeline did not sit well with the commissioners.
Barisi Village
"There's just a lot of people losing a lot of confidence in this process, so, me included," Chesney said.
"This waiting a year, another year and a half with nothing, I think is unacceptable," said Judge Connie Scott of Nueces County.
"I've had second-guesses about this whole thing from the very beginning," said Mike Pusley, Precinct 1 County Commissioner.
The developer cited high interest rates and the current economic climate as reasons for the project's delay.
Hurlbert indicated the city might consider requiring some type of permitting from the developer to demonstrate progress. Otherwise, the city could move to dissolve the TIRZ.
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