CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Rockport is celebrating its grand reopening of the Rockport Center for the Arts. Over $12 million has gone into the facility, that has been described by its Executive Director, Luis Purón, as a labor of love.
“I think people are going to discover this building and see how beautiful it is,” Purón said.
The facility is filled with 22,000 sq ft. of galleries and classrooms.
“They’re gonna see how functional we’ve designed it,” Purón said.
This $12.5 million investment was made possible by a $5 million government grant and several donors. Jeffrey Sjostrom, Aransas County Partnership EDC President, feels a facility like this one speaks to the relentless spirit of the city.
“I think this is symbolic of the renaissance that’s been occurring in Rockport and Aransas County since Hurricane Harvey,” Sjostrom said.
After Hurricane Harvey made landfall in 2017, Purón said that only accelerated this grand project.
“The very thing we knew this facility would do is promote economic growth that was already happening,” Purón said.
82-year-old Port Aransas artist, Steve Davis couldn’t be happier with his work being displayed to so many people.
“Where do you find something like this? It’s gorgeous,” Davis said.
Mayor Tim Jayroe said artists have always done great things for the city of Rockport.
“This facility is so much larger and spacious and modern than what we had,” Jayroe said.
Purón says this will be a crowning jewel for Rockport.
“It feels so amazing to finally be at this stage where we can open our doors gracefully,” Purón said.