Boarded-up, vacant buildings in Downtown Corpus Christi hurt the city’s modernization and beautification efforts in that part of town. But within the last couple of months the owners of one such building have gotten the approval to renovate.
“The owners have been working on plans for awhile now, and they are hoping to get this completed this year,” Downtown Management District Communication and Events Manager Jordan Michael said.
So, not only do the owners plan to turn the old building into eight apartments with retail space on the bottom floor, they also want all the work done before the calendar turns to 2020. It’s exciting news for organizations like the DMD that are invested in growing Downtown in both population and popularity.
“We’ve seen so much improvement along Chaparral Street specifically, so this really is going to help bring it just that much further along,” Michael said.
Plenty of boarded-up, vacant building remain Downtown including the old Centre Theatre that’s on Chaparral. But in taking the boards off the windows of one building, the DMD sees the potential for others to follow suit.
“Having the Ward Building, which has been vacant for so long, come online, it’s really going to transform the landscape of Chaparral Street and Downtown in general,” Michael said. “And we’re really excited to help bridge this gap.”
