Investors plan $5 million Intracoastal Waterway marina

SURFSIDE BEACH, Texas – Following a wide response from developers, two private investors have opted to use a “master-planned” approach for a new marina on Texas’ Intracoastal Waterway, according to an article yesterday in The Brazosport Facts.

Phase I is moving forward on the nine-acre site and is expected to feature a $5 million, 400-slip marina with a floating pier system and a drystack building to hold at least 280 boats, according to the article.

What Phase II will bring, however, has yet to be finalized.

After going public in February, a strong response from investors prompted discussions of developments that could venture beyond the hotel, retail and restaurant combination initially proposed, Houston attorney and investor Marc Grosz III told The Facts. One of those ideas is a proposed mid-rise, mixed-use building that could feature condominiums as well as a variety of dining and retail options, such as a small mall, Grosz said.

Grosz told the newspaper no final plans for the project’s Phase II were in place, but many people had come forward with possibilities.

The only structure remaining on the site is a two-story building that could be converted during Phase I into a ship store, offices for yacht brokers and a high-end fishing charter company, Grosz told The Facts.

Grosz said he’s being “courted” by a number of anxious developers, the most notable of which is responsible for a string of major coastal development in Florida, according to the report.

Newly elected Surfside Beach Alderwoman Peggy Llewellyn told The Facts she hasn’t seen the site, but she’s excited about the opportunities it could present.

“I think projects like that are positive for the community,” Llewellyn told the newspaper. “It brings in more opportunities for people on the island, like tourism and an increase in the tax base. I think we could use more retail activities in the community, because there are a lot of residences and a lot of people have to go over the bridge to do basic shopping.”

Surfside investors aim to finish the project’s Phase I, including the marina and two-story building, by next spring.

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