Here's what you need to know about Sea Walk, the new concept for downtown Corpus Christi

As conversations deepen on how to use Corpus Christi’s sales tax dollars, a new concept has emerged on how existing revenue funds could be used  – a project downtown that would bring to life new miradors, greenery, parks and a pathway that would connect unused property adjacent to the bay waters.

Bill Durrill Jr., head of the nonprofit Devary Durrill Foundation, proposed to the City Council this week what he describes as a Sea Walk – a concept that would, in part, develop a pathway from the American Bank Center, curving up toward the ship channel.

What prompted the presentation was two-fold, Durrill told the council on Tuesday – the upcoming demolition of the existing Harbor Bridge couples with the pending opening of the new Harbor Bridge – as well as the lengthy dialogue among the council and within the community of a possible new direction for investment of sales tax dollars.

He’s not requesting funding, Durrill told the Caller-Times on Thursday – instead, the intention was to lay out an idea for the City Council to consider on how to use the already-collected revenue that has been brought in by sales taxes earmarked for the seawall and the American Bank Center’s arena.

The existing Harbor Bridge’s demolition, and opening of the new Harbor Bridge, is a special circumstance, Durrill told the council on Tuesday, adding that “we won’t see anything like it again in our lifetime.”

“We need to take advantage of the opportunity while it’s in front of us,” Durrill said.

What is the Sea Walk?

Durrill is the son of the late William R. “Dusty” Durrill, whose initiative delivered to the bayfront the seawall miradors and Selena statue.

As shown in a YouTube rendering, the Sea Walk – a large pathway that would act akin to an extension of the seawall – would start at the barge dock located in front of the American Bank Center, then wind its way past the areas of the South Texas Museum of Art, the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, and the Port of Corpus Christi’s new building off the ship channel.

The proposal includes new greenspace and parks and would help tie together a port project for a nearby park and the city’s capital improvement program, Durrill said.

The city’s capital improvement program currently shows in its projects an estimated $3.6 million to construct a new floodwall and bulkheads in the area of the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, as well as an estimated $2.55 million project that would connect the museum to the Watergarden and the port’s potential park.

As proposed, the Sea Walk project would keep in place the pylons of what would then be the mostly-demolished old Harbor Bridge.

Describing the concrete columns as “the ribs” of the bridge, they would serve as an “architectural, historical marker,” Durrill the council Tuesday.

The majority of proposed Sea Walk upgrades would be surface improvements, Durrill added, with the exception of an additional 150,000-square-foot exhibit center that would act as adjunct space to the convention center.

Surface improvements to the area make a difference, said Jonathan Gonzalez, who crafted the YouTube video shown to the council as part of the proposed concept.

“It’s some landscaping and some walkways,” he said. “But look how beautiful it made the (Sports, Entertainment and Arts) district look, just from that.”

Continuing to improve that area is vital, said City Councilman Everett Roy.

“I see this actually as a kick-off point, or even a first phase, because there are other things that need to be done after that,” he said.

What is the future of the sales tax?

The City Council has been in dialogue for months about the city’s sales tax dollars and where they should be invested.

Two voter-approved existing sales taxes – one-eighth-cent for the downtown seawall and one-eighth-cent for the American Bank Center’s arena – are due to expire within the next two years.

They cannot be reauthorized or repurposed without the support of voters.

Two proposals for the sales that have been most endorsed by the majority of councilmembers would, if voters approved, use the sales tax dollars currently earmarked for the arena and expand its purposes to improve the entirety of the American Bank Center – which includes the Selena auditorium and convention center – as well as the area city-owned museums, Harbor Playhouse and Watergarden.

Revenue that is presently dedicated to the seawall, meanwhile, has been proposed to expand its purpose from not only improving the seawall but flood mitigation projects elsewhere in Corpus Christi.

Another proposal councilmembers are considering would ask voters to redirect sales tax dollars currently used at the arena to go to residential streets instead.

It’s anticipated the council within the next four weeks will make a decision on which proposals to put on the November ballot.

Durrill on Tuesday appealed to the council to keep sales tax dollars currently dedicated to the seawall and the American Bank Center to their “original intent, for the upkeep and maintenance for the convention center complex and the protection and flood mitigation of the downtown area.”

“We have tens of millions of dollars that other boards in this community have committed towards tourism, for hotel development in this neighborhood,” Durrill told the council. “To undermine that direction would be a mistake. We have a unique opportunity, a generational opportunity.”

City Councilwoman Sylvia Campos said Wednesday that she believes residents would prefer that sales taxes be redirected from the American Bank Center to residential street work.

Should voters be presented with – and approve – an option to use the sales taxes for residential streets, the initiative would remain in effect for four years, she said, at which time the discussion could be revisited.

“I totally support the arts – I think that’s a very important part of peoples’ lives that add quality of life,” Campos said. “But at the same time – because we have ignored our infrastructure for so long – we have some catching up to do.”

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Here's what you need to know about Sea Walk, the new concept for downtown Corpus Christi