Sunday, October 21, 2001

42 Eye of the beholder

They came. They saw. They put money down. People from out-of-town sometime see Corpus Christi's potential more than the locals do. Here are a few out-of-towners who have gambled on Corpus Christi lately.
   Keith Rose
   Now a local physician, bought two buildings in downtown Corpus Christi three years ago and turned one of them into 21 Club, a martini bar. The other is being renovated for a steakhouse called The Catz to open before Thanksgiving.
   Another 10 lofts are 100 percent leased above the 21 Club. That's not to mention Rose's day job as a doctor. He owns The Doctor's Center and the Callalen Minor Emergency Center under his company's name, One Med Corp. In total, he estimates putting about $4.5 million in Corpus Christi.
   Why would a doctor want to own a bar and a restaurant?
   "Unlimited potential. It's Austin 20 years ago, with the beach.''
   David Cottrell
   Took an old, boarded upformer Handy Dan building on South Padre Island Drive at Greenwood and turned it into South Coast Plaza.
   The 101,000-square-foot shopping center opened about a year ago and is 80 percent occupied with tenants such as Johnny Carino's, 99 Cents Plus and McDonald's. New arrivals include Lucky Dragon, a Chinese restaurant to open in January, the child care center Oxford Academy, and Fantastic Sam's Beauty Salon.
   The Houston developer also bought an old grocery store in Sinton to turn it into a shopping center and an abandoned building in Kingsville to make a 34,000-square-foot shopping center.
   He's still looking at other property in the Corpus Christi area.
   His best bet so far, though, has been South Coast Plaza across from Tinseltown, Wal-Mart Supercenter and Sam's Club.
   "You can't get to any of these without going by my shopping center,'' Cottrell said. "I get first shot at all their customers.''
   Paul Schexnailder
   Plans a $677 million resort with condominiums and amusement parks around Packery Channel on Padre Island.
   Though the bulk of the development awaits the expected dredging of the channel, the first stage is under construction, a 32-unit townhouse project called Beach Haven Townhomes. It is the first sizable multi-family project building on Padre Island since the early 1980s.
   Schexnailder lives in Austin but has an office in Corpus Christi and comes here for a couple of days each week.
  
  

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