S P O N S O R S P O T L I G H T:
Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corp.
In the Pipeline
Look out in the Corpus Christi Bay and you’ll see why its namesake city ranked fourth in the nation among Site Selection’s Top Metros for corporate facility investment in 2004. What you’ll see is the heartbeat of a nation’s energy and petrochemical economy, connected almost literally by pipeline to its fellow Texas metros and to the rest of the world. And helping the rest of the world connect to Corpus Christi is the mission of the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corporation.
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In fact, the city accounts for one percent of the nation’s total oil and gas industry employment, ranking 15th in employment in the industry’s products and services sector. The most recent outgrowths of this cluster are several proposals for liquefied natural gas terminals and oil refinery complex expansions. One need only read the national headlines or look at the nearest gasoline prices to register the importance of these developments — not only to the consumer, but to the chemical and plastics industries that look to natural gas as an energy source for their operations.
Last year, in addition to moving its headquarters to Houston, CITGO announced an $828-million expansion at its Corpus Christi refinery that is resulting in 120 new jobs.
Meanwhile, there’s plenty of other onshore development action. For one, the metro area of half a million people has seen home construction surge by 76 percent over the past four years. Community infrastructure continues to develop as well, helped along by facts like this one: Between 2003 and 2004, sales tax revenues jumped from just under $90 million to just over $100 million. And the city’s minor league baseball team, the Corpus Christi Hooks, are playing in a sparkling new home at Whataburger Field, which saw its first pitch delivered on April 17, 2005.
But the absolute latest happened just as this newsletter went to press: On June 9, the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corp. replaced departing president and CEO Ron Kitchens with Roland C. Mower, who was previously employed in the same position for The Research Valley Partnership in Bryan-College Station (another IAMC sponsor). One of the key criteria for the choice of Mower, a 16-year economic development veteran, was his status as a certified economic developer. He will assume his new post on July 18.
Even before Mower’s arrival, however, the two communities shared a strong institutional bond: They both are home to campuses from Texas A&M University, which savvy real estate professionals know as home to the Real Estate Center, the nation's largest publicly funded organization devoted to real estate research.
One of Mower’s immediate tasks will be helping the community fight Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) plans for closing Naval Station Ingleside, which happens to be in the same area targeted for LNG terminal developments from Cheniere Energy, Occidental Petroleum and ExxonMobil. Retired Air Force Col. Bob Rasmussen has just been hired by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to help lead a task force leading the charge to keep the base open. The hedge? Rasmussen was key in helping the closed Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio realign as KellyUSA, a successful industrial park.
In the meantime, CCREDC continues to align the Corpus Christi metro with new jobs and new opportunities.
Look for more in-depth coverage of Corpus Christi in the Energy Industry Spotlight in the July 2005 issue of Site Selection.
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IAMC Notes