$30 Million Development Planned Along Packery Channel Traffic light at SPID/Aquarius Intersection necessary to attract new hotel By Dale Rankin A $30 million development including a 101 room hotel and retail sites at the intersection of SPID and Aquarius at the base of the JFK Causeway is moving through the planning process and will be presented to the Island Strategic Action Committee at its next meeting on Tuesday December 2. Walter Busby, Managing Partner with Turner Busby Development in San Antonio, is the developer of the project, which is called Packery Pointe Subdivision. “We have been working on this project for about a year,” Busby said, “Before that we couldn’t see the reason for being there, but with the development, such as Schlitterbahn, which is now coming in it makes sense.” Turner Busby Development developed the 3500-acre Alamo Ranch subdivision in San Antonio, several hotel projects, and Eagle Ford Landing which is a $31 million, 378-unit apartment community on the southeast side of San Antonio. Busby’s partner in the company is Tom O. Turner whose grandfather was the founder of Sigmor and the developer of Sonterra Country Club in San Antonio. Aside from the hotel, Busby said a Starbucks coffee house and other retail developments are planned, along with a small bar/restaurant operation which would be located on the portion of the site which fronts Packery Channel on the east. He said in order for the hotel to be included in the development a traffic light is needed at the intersection of SPID and Aquarius. “We need to have something to slow down traffic in that area,” Busby said. “It will stay green most of the time, but it needs to be there for safety.” The company hired Urban Engineering to conduct a warrant study last November to determine if the traffic volume at the intersection was sufficient to warrant a light and found that it was sufficient. Busby said his company would spend $425,000 to pay for the light and install a radar sensor on the JFK bridge that would adjust the timing of the light according to traffic flow. Busby said under the plan the City of Corpus Christi would spend $550,000 to alter the road and median structure at the intersection to allow for the safe passage of traffic. “The sensor would make sure the light stays green if traffic started to back up onto the bridge,” he said. The distance from the intersection to the JFK Causeway is the distance of about 120 car lengths. Rumble strips would be installed at the base of the bridge, along with signs and flashing lights warning motorists that there is a light ahead. Busby said that the Texas Department of Transportation has been studying the need for a light at the intersection since 2009. As part of the project a loop would allow motorists who turn left on Aquarius into the new development could go south and re-enter SPID just north of the Best Western Motel. Busby said he will present the full plan to the Island Strategic Action Committee at the December 2 meeting, which will be at 5:30 at Comfort Suites on Windward Drive. The meeting is open to the public.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:06:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015