KINGSVILLE, Tx — In July of 2023, the City of Kingsville took its first steps towards creating a nature and event center, an activity for the kids and tourists. In November, voters said yes to this idea as it was proposed as Proposition A on the ballot. Now, the project is slowly picking up, and so is the excitement around it.
“People aren’t coming to Kingsville for the beautiful yards or the fantastic architecture. They are almost all coming for nature,” Kingsville photographic guide Hugh Lieck said.
Hugh Lieck has been around nature and birds a lot. So much that he takes pictures of them for a living. He said he’s learned a thing or two about the way the environment in this region works.
“The Kingsville area is sort of the gateway to the part of South Texas that holds a lot of interesting bird species,” Lieck said.
His friend Laura Negrete said she’s excited to see the project coming together.
“I think it would be a great idea, especially for the kids because there’s nothing for kids to do around here. Personally I’m a nature person and I would have to drive to Corpus to go to the wetland perservatory,” Lieck said.
Taxpayers would not be paying for the project. It would be payed for through a hotel occupancy tax that the city believes will put one to two million dollars into the project.
“But we also have some private entities that are interested that could make up the difference that could make this thing happen. It’s right there. We feel confident that we will have the money to do it,” City of Kingsville Mayor Sam Fugate said.
The center would be interactive and educational for all those who visit, not just children or tourists.
“You know you come in and touch a button and it’ll tell you about the plants, the animals, the climate,” Fugate said.
It would take over The King Ranch Museum’s current spot.
“I think it would be a good area for it because downtown Kingsville is a couple feet away, so it would bring a lot of revenue to downtown Kingsville,” Negrete said.
But to continue work on the project the Henrietta Memorial Center still needs to be improved.
“We need a new roof, need a new air conditioner and the project itself the interaction portion of it is three to five million. Its probably going to be close to a five, six, seven million dollar project,” Fugate said.
Mayor Fugate said he expects to see more certain plans for the project make their way to city commissioners next month.
This is just phase one of the project. Phase two includes introducing a space for meetings, with white boards and technology to attract those who attend conferences.
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