CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas —
Construction for the new Homewood Suites Hotel in Downtown Corpus Christi has been underway for some time, but changes in its design are needed following FEMA's new flood-zone requirements.
"The hotel is estimated to have an investment of about $33 million in the Downtown area," said assistant city manager Heather Hurlbert. "It does activate another hotel in the Downtown area. It activates retail space. It activates restaurant space, and it activates a block that really has not been activated in multiple years."
Once newly defined FEMA flood-zone requirements came into play in 2023, the developer realized changes would be needed to meet those requirements.
Hurlbert said thanks to a $2 million investment from the city's Type B fund, the hotel will be able to comply.
The city's Type B funds come from city sales taxes. It provides funds for economic development, specifically for new and expanded businesses.
The new hotel is eligible for Type B funds because it will be creating jobs. When the hotel is complete, there will be at least 70 new jobs added to the Corpus Christi job market.
"The Type B board felt like this was an important project in the fact that it is the first new construction that has been in the Downtown area since, I think, the Residence Inn and the Frost Bank building were built," Hurlbert said.
The new FEMA requirements require any new construction Downtown to be elevated 4 feet.
Hurlbert said the funding from the city's Type B board will help the new hotel stay consistent with other buildings Downtown.
"Instead of taking that building and raising it up 4 feet, this provides for a flood wall structure that will enable the street-level activation," she said.
Local businesses say once the hotel is finished, they look forward to seeing what it does for the area.
"I think the addition of the hotel like this in the heart of Downtown is going to do nothing but just continue to grow and transform what this city is turning into," said Water Street Ltd. Marketing Manager Alexis Hill.
Marlow Proctor at Tease Salon said he thinks the new hotel will bring in more foot traffic.
"I see a lot of people that we wouldn't have had down here, because, you know, they'll be staying next door," he said. "I think that they'll be bringing more business to the businesses downtown that are thriving and have been thriving for a while now.".