On Real Estate

Tuesday, December 26, 2000

Townhomes planned for Padre Island

Price for typical townhome there soars from $99,000 to $164,000 in a year

Three local developers are planning at least 54 townhomes on Padre Island this year.
   The homes on Grass Cay and Gun Cay courts and on Leeward Drive range in price up to $189,000, said Gene Guernsey, a real estate agent who specializes in island townhome sales.
   The first townhomes should be completed by the spring.
   All of the townhome developments face the east, which Guernsey said makes them more popular with buyers because they catch the morning sun and the evening shade.
   Doug Shaw of Shaw Builders Inc. is making final plans to develop a residential community of 36 townhomes off Leeward Drive. The townhomes are within walking distance of the water, and will have a pool on the property. The $3.5 million worth of property near Lake Padre will have the feel of South Florida. No sale price is set yet.
   Isla Properties is developing six units of townhomes on Gun Cay Court. The townhomes will range from 1,800 square feet to 2,100 square feet and be built with granite countertops, tile floors, high ceilings and whirlpool tubs.
   The master bedroom is on the first floor, overlooking the water. The second floor has a second living area and bedrooms. Each unit has a two-car garage.
   The units will range in price from $179,000 to $189,000. They should be completed in April, Guernsey said.
   Harmony Design of Corpus Christi is starting on a triplex on Grass Cay Court. These units range from 1,600 square feet to 1,700 square feet and are priced beginning at $164,000.
   When the Grass Cay property is sold, Harmony Design plans to start on a nine-unit building. That phase might start in July, Guernsey said. As more people call Padre Island home, the price of living there is going up. For that reason, Guernsey points to the limited number of waterfront lots, increasing numbers of baby boomers looking for retirement homes, and the booming economy in Austin and San Antonio making people want beachfront vacation homes.
   Guernsey said homes that were selling for $99,000 a year ago are now selling for $164,000. The least expensive townhome he has on the island now is $125,000.
   Part of the reason for the increasing prices is the limited number of waterfront lots zoned for multifamily development. Two years ago, a waterfront lot might cost about $8,000. Nowadays, the same lot will cost about $20,000, he said.
   Tear it down
   Shamrock Demolition spent last week tearing down a house at 3861 Ocean Drive. The structural stability of the house, which never was completed, had been called into question, said Chuck Olson of Shamrock.
   The unfinished house had weather damage to the inside, he said. ASMF Inc. took out the building permit as contractor for the house. The company was unable to be reached Friday.
   Olson said from time to time his company is called on to tear down houses before they are finished.
  
  

---

Business writer Andrea Jares can be reached at 886-3678 or by email at jaresa@caller.com. On Real Estate is published every other Tuesday in the Business section.

| Stock look up | Business Calendar | Talk about this story | Home |

---

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

---

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND

---

  © 2000, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.