Dirt hasn’t yet moved on the property of a former golf course where a European-style mixed-use development is planned — a point of frustration publicly aired earlier this month by county officials, some of whom also cast doubt that Barisi Village would be fully realized.
Developers have asserted that there remains full commitment to bringing Barisi Village to fruition — and while they had hoped to move faster, “market timing for a project of this scale and ambition requires careful calibration,” wrote Benjamin “Jed” Rollins, Blackard Companies senior vice president, in a June 24 email to the Caller-Times.
“We’re not in the business of breaking ground just to break ground — we need the right market conditions and capital structure to ensure long-term success,” he wrote.
The project, as detailed in presentations, is proposed to redevelop 127 acres of the former Pharaoh Valley Golf Course, bringing to life what was once abandoned property and replacing the empty parcels instead with a largescale mixed-use development.
Shown is a conceptual rendering of the village plaza at the proposed Barisi Village, planned as a mixed-use development that would be constructed on the former Pharaoh Valley Golf Course.
It is anticipated that it would feature a motley assortment of features, including retail space, single-family homes, apartments, a plaza, a bell tower and outdoor recreation options, such as walking paths and sport courts, according to officials.
The proposal has been lauded as an avenue to revitalize the area, promote economic development, redevelop long-fallow land and boost property values of the adjacent neighborhood.
There are concerns, though, about the timeframe that the development may be accomplished, several governmental leaders said this month, citing the possibility that dirt may not be moved for another 12 to 18 months.
‘Frustrating’
County, city and college officials vowed in October 2024 to support the development with tax abatements, calling for reimbursements of certain infrastructure via a tax increment.
Seven months later, commissioners raised concerns about the viability of the endeavor — and the likelihood that its vision would be achieved — following a June 11 presentation by Corpus Christi Assistant City Manager Heather Hurlbert.
There had been a perception that work was ready to go when signing off on tax incentives, officials said.
Nueces County Commissioner Brent Chesney said some community members have begun to lose confidence that the project will be realized, himself included.
His precinct includes a portion of the property. The other portion is within the precinct of Nueces County Commissioner John Marez.
“It’s frustrating because we all did this because we really wanted to help the neighbors,” Chesney said.
The county, like others, remains “excited about the concept,” Marez said.
“We want that growth and development,” he said. “But we’ve also got to see some results.”
In his email to the Caller-Times, Rollins wrote that the group continues “to refine our plans while monitoring market conditions.”
A timeline of 12 to 18 months for dirt moving on the property — as quoted earlier this month by city staff — is possible, he wrote.
Timing considerations have included “current market dynamics in Corpus Christi—specifically the combination of depressed rents, rising vacancy rates, and signals of a temporarily oversupplied multifamily sector,” Rollins wrote.
“Our goal remains to deliver a transformative project that succeeds both for investors and the community,” he wrote “We want to be crystal clear: we are not walking away from Barisi Village. We’ve invested too much time, capital, and vision into this project. We’re simply being responsible stewards of both investor capital and community trust by ensuring we break ground when conditions support long-term success.”
Tax incentives
City officials have said once Barisi Village is fully built out — a process expected to unfold over 10 to 12 years, the development will hold a taxable value of as much as $1 billion to be added to the rolls for local taxing entities.
Local taxing entities’ endorsement of the venture came in the way of a tax increment reinvestment zone — also known as a TIRZ — a financial structure in which a portion of a property tax increment, collected in a certain area, is dedicated to improvements in the same area.
The funding is drawn from a tax increment — the increased property tax generated by increased value of the property, as compared to before the development occurs.
The Barisi Village agreement involves reimbursements for certain kinds of public infrastructure.
Development components proposed for reimbursement include public infrastructure, such as parking and street improvements, as well as public spaces such as the plazas and parks.
That means there will be no tax reimbursements until specific agreed-upon project elements are complete.
As part of TIRZ participation, the city agreed to contribute about $32.1 million in tax increments over a 20-year timespan while Nueces County agreed to contribute $12.7 million over the same timeframe.
Del Mar College agreed to contribute about $6.8 million over 10 years.
A lengthy TIRZ approval process was among the factors leading to delays, Rollins wrote in his email — “during which interest rates rose dramatically and construction costs remained elevated.”
He named among other factors what he described as weakness in the city’s multifamily market, increasing insurance costs and water issues.
“The City’s well-documented water capacity constraints create significant underwriting challenges — many lenders tracking this project have explicitly cited this infrastructure limitation as a barrier to lending in this market,” Rollins wrote.
Delays
A developer agreement is pending finalization, Hurlbert told commissioners June 11.
“We are just as apprehensive about this moving forward, I think, as you are … because it has not moved forward as has been promised,” she said.
Should Barisi Village not reach fruition, there would be an option to dissolve the TIRZ, Hurlbert added.
The council has expressed interest in incorporating milestones into the developer agreement to ensure “that the developer continued to move forward,” Hurlbert told the commissioners court.
Governmental bodies indicating they may reverse course “fundamentally undermines our ability to secure financing,” Rollins wrote.
“We’ve worked collaboratively with the City and County for over a decade to reach this point—having that partnership publicly questioned now, when the project faces other economic headwinds, compounds every other challenge we’re navigating,” he wrote.
It is anticipated that a presentation will be brought before the City Council in the upcoming weeks, Hurlbert told the Caller-Times on June 20.
In a June 24 message, Mayor Paulette Guajardo wrote that she was concerned “about the continued delay of this long anticipated project.”
She wrote, “After years of planning and preparation, it is disappointing that construction has yet to begin.”
Guajardo added that the city urges “the developer to move forward, knowing that further delays to this amazing $800 million investment only increase risk and cost.”
Blackard Companies is the sole owner of the property.
Since there haven’t been improvements to the property, its value remains the same, Hurlbert told the Caller-Times — meaning that the city isn’t “losing out on any revenue that would be coming in that could be used for other services.”
“While we don’t want it just sitting there, it also is not taking away from something else,” she said.
More: A new step taken for new village-themed Barisi development: zoning for abatements
More: Del Mar College reconsidered proposed abatements for Barisi Village. Here’s what they did.
More: Here’s what Nueces County decided for a proposed mixed-use development in Corpus Christi
More: Del Mar College has voted on Barisi Village development. This is what regents decided.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Officials have doubts about Barisi Village development. Here’s why.
