CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — With the city in the midst of an affordable-housing shortage, a proposed development could bring hundreds of new homes to the city.
It’s called Bohemian Colony, and plans call for the 220-acre development to be built west of Crosstown Expressway between South Padre Island Dr. and Holly Rd.
Plans call for 777 new townhouses, priced under $200,000. Plus, the $230 million development will include two apartment complexes with 1,080 more units.
“I don’t expect to stop providing product for 10-plus years, unless we run out sooner because of high demand,” said developer Roberto Santos Williams.
Santos Williams’ family has owned the land since the 1990’s. It was originally owned by Stanley Kostoryz, and has been farm land for nearly seven decades. It was also the proposed site of Crosstown Commons about a decade ago.
Dist. 3 City Councilman Roland Barrera calls ‘BoCo’ a shot in the arm for his district.
“At a time right now when people are hesitant to develop, they’ve come to us and want to keep moving full-steam ahead,” he said.
Plans also call for 40 acres of commercial space with more than 450,000 sq. ft. of retail space. and a 10-acre community park.
“They are willing to put in the infrastructure,” Barrera said. “They actually want to expand a road, put two additional roads in, put the underground utilities. Once the money is generated, then they’re reimbursed.”
That reimbursement would be paid through a tax-increment reinvestment zone, or TIRZ. If approved by the city council, this TIRZ calls for Santos Williams to be reimbursed $10 million over 20 years.
“It’s no benefit to us necessarily, it’s purely public infrastructure, public roads that we have to build and we hope to be reimbursed for,” said Santos Williams.
The city council should get a presentation on the project in early August. If all goes well, construction could start within a year. Santos Williams hopes to have the first townhouses on the market within 28 months.
