CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Back in 2008, the city of Corpus Christi created Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, or TIRZ, #3 to help redevelop its downtown area.
Eight years after the zone was created, the city and the Downtown Management District developed a program that gives business owners incentives for investing in the downtown area.
Assistant City Manager Heather Hurlbert says the incentive helps bring success to the area.
"A vital downtown is really important for growth. Being able to have those vibrant businesses that are downtown, along with the amenities that our downtown provides," said Hurlbert. "Creating that synergy, filling in those vacant buildings with vibrant businesses it a great opportunity for growth downtown."
The main goal? To fill vacant buildings and increase the housing supply downtown.
"It's basically using the revenue that's generated in a certain area by incremental growth and investing it back in," explained Hurlbert.
Alyssa Barrera Mason, the executive director of the Downtown Management District says the city's downtown area has experienced changes over the years and has continued to draw in new businesses.
"We've seen many new businesses open up downtown. All the revitalization and vibrancy that you see going on today is due to the programs that we created in 2016. We've seen them be very successful."
One business who took advantage of that incentive program was Lazy Beach Brewing
"Downtown was always something that we wanted to do." said Jessica Mathews, who co-owns the company. "We were really driven to want to be right by the beach and enjoy that coastal living lifestyle. It wasn't in the stars in the beginning, but luckily we had a space open up."
Mathews and her husband started the brewery in 2014, but it wasn't until last year that they were able to move their business downtown thanks to the incentive program.
"It made it to where not only were we able to upgrade the space but make it into something even better. We were able to update a lot of different things just to give it that nice facelift that it needed. Downtown has got a lot of beautiful spaces just as long as they get that little TLC."
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