Cold storage can help move port to the top

Improved rail, road links are in the works to help win customers

February 1, 2003
By Venessa Santos-Garza
Caller-Times

Cold storage could help ice the way for the Port of Corpus Christi’s slide into the elite list of top international shipping facilities, said port officials.

Port officials believe so much in the importance of cold storage that in December they set aside $5 million of their $27.2 million budget for expansion of facilities built just a few years ago to include storage space for chilled items.

Chuck Margraf, operations manger of the cold storage facility, said the port’s biggest draw is its efficiency.

"Our customers ship their product here and we can unload it into a facility that is just 60 feet from the water," he said. "We can do meat inspections, we can package, label and distribute the product. Those are huge assets."

Jake Jacobi, the port’s deputy director, is confident in the future of the cold storage business.

"I think people are starting to take a look at Corpus Christi as a viable place to do business," he said.

Because of increasing demand for storage of frozen food at its new refrigerated warehouse, the port wants to expand. The port plans to convert a cargo dock into a chiller that would house imports including grapes, peaches and avocados. This would increase its marketability.

"The chilled product facility will hopefully bring us to the attention of other importers and exporters," said Lillian Riojas, a port spokeswoman. "The expansion also adds some diversity to our business, which is very important."

Officials also have made allowances for the continued construction of the Joe R. Fulton International Trade Corridor, a planned 11.5-mile alternate route for industrial truck traffic that will include improved rail and road links. The new corridor will run from the intersection of Carbon Plant Road and Interstate 37 to U.S. Highway 181 at the north side of the Harbor Bridge.

Plans for a water taxi
The port plans to award the contracts for construction of the corridor next year. The budget estimates the project will cost $49.7 million, with costs this year of $3.75 million, most of it to be paid for by the state and federal governments.

The port also moved along with plans for a water taxi expected to ferry Solomon P. Ortiz International Center visitors and baseball fans between the Ortiz center and North Beach. The port’s budget projects $1.37 million in total costs, with the port spending $215,000 next year and the federal government pitching in $860,000.

Taxpayers in November agreed to fund a baseball stadium near the port, and the port has been negotiating with the city to sell land for the stadium. The stadium would require 11.5 acres of land and space for an estimated 1,500 parking spots, resulting in the demolition of the port’s cotton compress buildings, port officials said.

"There are a lot of things going on in the area, and I think it’s time for it. Lots of cities make use of their waterfronts, and I think Corpus Christi is starting to do that," Jacobi said. "I think our expansion, the baseball stadium approved by the voters and other improvements in the area are going to be a huge boon for the entire region."

Contact Venessa Santos-Garza at 886-3752 or santosv@caller.com