Corpus Christi has grown over the years.
What once used to be fields of grass and empty lots on the city’s Southside is now a bustling area with businesses popping up.
The same goes for downtown — the vibrant location is constantly growing to provide more community engagement.
With 2025 on the horizon, Corpus Christi has plenty more planned for the new year with developments and infrastructure. Here are nine things you should look forward to hearing about next year.
But first, an honorable mention goes to a possible Corpus Christi location of Bass Pro Shops. City leaders announced in October the company’s plans to develop a store in Corpus Christi, but they gave no details about a timeline or location, saying a deal was still in the works.
Bass Pro Shops initially showed interest in opening a storefront at the former Memorial Coliseum in 2004, but eight months later, the company pulled out.
Harbor Bridge
After many delays, the new Harbor Bridge is scheduled to be completed in June 2025.
The $1.2 billion project was originally estimated to be completed in spring 2020.
A view of construction of the Harbor Bridge project from Old Bayview Cemetery in Corpus Christi on Nov. 2.
The new bridge will replace the existing Harbor Bridge and reconstruct portions of U.S. 181, I-37 and the Crosstown Expressway. The bridge will include six-lane sections of U.S. 181, three lanes in each direction with a median barrier, shoulders, and a bicycle and pedestrian shared-use path.
The current Harbor Bridge has safety issues including the lack of shoulders, a steep grade and a reverse curve.
New aquatic centers
Two new aquatic centers are headed to Corpus Christi next year.
One is the $4.5 million T.C. Ayers Aquatic Center set to be located in the Hillcrest neighborhood. The original pool was closed in 2022 due to construction of the new Harbor Bridge.
The new center is set to have a club house, showers, changing rooms and restrooms.
A northern aerial view of the planned Bill Witt Aquatic Center is shown in this illustration. Construction on the aquatic center is estimated to conclude in June.
The second center will be found at Bill Witt Park on Corpus Christi’s Southside. It was originally scheduled to be completed in June 2024 but is now estimated for sometime next year.
The $12 million project will have a 10-lane lap pool and a separate, shallower pool intended for a more recreational use. The latter area will include a slide, play units and spray features.
Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery
Ground broke for an expansion at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery in September.
The expansion will add thousands of new crypts and columbaria niches.
A map shows expansion plans for the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery in Corpus Christi on Sept. 22, 2023.
It is estimated to be complete in spring 2025, and will also include landscaping and irrigation improvements, road improvements and the addition of the U.S. Space Force flags and seals.
The cemetery will have the capacity to serve as the final resting place for veterans for another 10 years before new land is needed.
600 Building
One of downtown’s most notable buildings, the 600 Building, will be converted from a former workspace into an apartment building.
Originally scheduled to be completed in September 2024, it is now estimated to be finished in June 2025.
A lone worker walks outside the 600 Building in uptown Corpus Christi on Sept. 8, 1986.
The revival of the 21-story building will feature 33 two-bedroom apartments and 98 one-bedroom apartments.
The project is intended to promote other transformative projects, activation of vacant buildings/lots and to increase residential units.
New, updated Corpus Christi ISD middle schools
A new Corpus Christi Independent School District middle school is set to open to students in time for the 2025-26 school year.
Still not named, the new middle school will be located beside Creekside Elementary School near Yorktown Boulevard and Oso Creek.
The new 160,000-square-foot southeast middle school will have the capacity to serve 900 students. The project cost $90.3 million to erect.
Corpus Christi ISD’s new Southside middle school design draws from other recently completed schools, including Baker and Cunningham at South Park middle schools. Renderings were presented to the Corpus Christi ISD board of trustees on Monday.
Hamlin Middle School on South Staples Street is scheduled to reopen in August 2025.
A new 155,000-square-foot facility was built to serve a capacity of 750 students. The middle school will be smaller due to constraints of construction on the existing property.
The $72 million project will feature 22 classrooms, a fine arts wing, a 3,500-square-foot library, a 5,000-square-foot cafeteria and a second gym.
Hotel Arya
Hotel Arya, set to open in May 2025, is expected to bring in millions of dollars to Corpus Christi next year.
Hotel Corpus Christi Bayfront will be renovated and renamed to Hotel Arya in a $24 million project.
Hotel Corpus Christi Bayfront — best known as home to Cassidy’s Irish Pub — will be renovated with new paint, stucco repairs, 200 rooms refreshed and landscaping.
The project is estimated to cost about $24 million, according to Downtown Management District Executive Director Alyssa Barrera Mason.
Corpus Christi FC multi-sports complex
A $28.3 million sports facility, the Corpus Christi FC complex, is estimated to be open summer 2025.
Originally planned for fall 2024, the complex will be located at 5102 Old Brownsville Road.
At far left, Sharky, the Corpus Christi Football Club mascot, attends a groundbreaking ceremony for new multisports complex on Dec. 6, 2023.
It will feature eight versatile fields, a go-kart racing track and a 5,000-seat stadium.
The project will be constructed on 46 acres of land and will be used for various sports, including soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse, flag football and more.
Community Grocery
A grocery store for downtown Corpus Christi residents is set to open in 2025.
Community Grocery, located on Peoples Street, was initially set to open in fall 2023, then summer 2024. It is now aimed at opening sometime in the next year.
The business will be a “local incubator” providing locally sourced and locally made food from Coastal Bend chefs.
The visual concept of a planned downtown community grocery store is shown in these images.
The front end of Community Grocery will operate as a café and market, while the back end will be for local chefs who want to put their own products out into the retail market.
Community Grocery will also offer beer and wine from local breweries, personal essential items and products from independent businesses not from the Corpus Christi area.
New piers on downtown T-Heads
The boardwalk that stretches from Shoreline Boulevard to the Peoples Street T-Head has been under construction since October 2024.
The $6 million project will replace the wooden-based structure with concrete pilings and composite decking. It is aimed to be completed in summer 2025.
The 13 finger piers that branch off the walkway will be replaced as well.
Maricela Ramos, of Minnesota, fishes off the Peoples Street T-Head on June 30, 2023, in Corpus Christi.
The first construction phase to replace marina piers on the Lawrence Street T-Heads started in early December 2024. The $19.4 million project is expected to be completed by summer 2025.
Workers will demolish Docks A, B, C and D; dredge the marina basin near the docks; and build new concrete floating docks.
RELATED COVERAGE
More: Catch these holiday films at Alamo Drafthouse, AMC and Century 16 in Corpus Christi
More: These Corpus Christi businesses will prepare your Christmas meal
John Oliva covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Contact him at john.oliva@caller.com or X @johnpoliva.
Consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Here are nine big new things coming to Corpus Christi next year
#bridge #beginning #Big #projects #slated #completion #coming #year
#bridge #beginning #Big #projects #slated #completion #coming #year