CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — About a decade ago, the people of Corpus Christi began hearing about Barisi Village, a project proposed for the abandoned Pharaoh Valley Golf Course.
Since then the project was slowed down by lawsuits and the COVID-19 Pandemic. The project is now back on track as the developer responsible for it, Jeff Blackard, has petitioned to create a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) in the Pharaoh Valley neighborhood.
This is a first step in gaining financial support for the project.
“It’s a really important step and in a lot of ways it kind of feels like a big first step for us,” Blackard Companies Senior Vice President Jed Rollins said.
It would be built in five phases over 10 to 12 years across the overgrown green space that is the abandoned golf course. It will include multi-family homes, townhouses, single family homes, athletic courts, a hotel, restaurants, a par three executive golf course and more.
It's intended to be a place for all of the public to enjoy.
“It’s going to be designed like an Italian village," Rollins said. "Pretty much everything we do right now is about making these places feel like places people want to be, and live, and come to.”
Blackard addressed Corpus Christi City Council after his proposal was presented to them on Tuesday.
"Everything you see in these pretty pictures I've done somewhere," Blackard said.
To see how this project could turn out, Rollins suggests looking at another one of their projects, The Adriatica Village in McKinney.
For those that don't know, A TIRZ uses the property taxes in a specific area and works like this. A designated area is set. Then a base year year is set.
For example, say $1,000 dollars in taxes is collected in that base year of 2023, in that area. Going forward, any taxes collected after the $1,000 is put into the TIRZ fund.
In this case the TIRZ fund would be used just for Barisi Village and the TIRZ would last for 20 years and then expire. Remaining money would go to the city's general fund.
Heather Hurlbert, Corpus Christi Assistant City Manager discussed how money would come out of the TIRZ during the presentation to city council.
“The developer is requesting a contribution from the city of 95% of the tax increment created over the first 10 years. Dropping down to 75% over the next five years. Dropping down to 50% over the next three years. And finally, ending in the last two years at 25%,” she said.
The overall estimated value of the village is somewhere between $800 million and $1 billion, according to Blackard Companies.
Blackard Companies is asking for $82.5 million in reimbursement from the TIRZ.
The city’s contribution would be small when looking at that overall value, it’d be around $42 million dollars.
For the TIRZ to be approved, another taxable entity needs joins in. Blackard Companies has factored in Nueces County and Del Mar College into their proposal. Rollins said they've spoken with Nueces County and Del Mar College have received positive feedback.
Rollins also said they are planning on speaking more with them in the coming weeks.
Rollins said TIRZ would be a positive for the city. He said the golf course property currently brings in under $8,000 a year in property taxes. It would bring in $150,000 or less over 20 years for the city.
With Barisi Village, that number could bump up to $20 million in taxes for the city. Sales tax and hotel occupancy tax could be a factor with what's proposed in the village as well.
For the TIRZ to be created, city council will now consider what they've heard and if any modifications are needed. There would then be a public hearing and first reading of the creation of the TIRZ. The city wants commitment from at least another taxing entity before the second reading.
Once created and interlocal agreements are made, a TIRZ board will be created. The board must approve the project and financing plan then city council must approve after two readings. Then the board must approve the developer agreement and send it to city council to approve.
To see the full TIRZ presentation with a breakdown of the costs, click here.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
