PADRE ISLAND, Texas — Tourists visiting Padre Island since Hurricane Harvey have had fewer choices when it comes to overnight stay as all of the residential towers there were out of service.
When Hurricane Harvey blasted the Island in late 2017, it destroyed the high rise residential towers on Padre Island, and they all missed the summer season in 2018. As 2020 opens, things are looking up.
There are a total of seven high rise residential towers inside the Corpus Christi City Limits on the Island. Except for a portion of Port Royal, they were all out of business through 2018.
Port Royal has 146 units available for an overnight stay, but about fifty are still under construction.
Next door Gulf Shores expects to be fully operational by the summer of 2020, and Sandpiper and Seagull also hope to have all their rooms ready by then as well. The Mayan Princess is already fully operational.
Two buildings are still trying to dig out, Mustang Towers suffered severe damage and is still closed to the public. On the seawall on Padre Island, the Holiday Inn is still closed but expected to be ready by summer.
When in business, the seven businesses collectively pay more than $4 million in Hotel Occupancy Tax each year, and if all goes according to a plan, that will be the case in 2020.
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