Porretto Beach Abandonment

[Indy2HOU]

https://www.galvnews.com/news/article_38ddffe5-29d7-5242-9b5a-afcefcc11b87.html

I've been reading about a project that's been in the works since 2016 but just recently permitted to move forward back in January. The project will be placed in front of the seawall on the current land of Porretto Beach.

 

This is the PDF of the project.

https://www.galvestontx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4558/Construction-in-Front-of-Seawall---April-28-2016

 

 

[Houston19514]

When they say "in front of Seawall", I take it they mean "in front of Seawall Blvd", not "in front of the seawall"?

[mollusk]

According to the attached .pdf, it does mean "in front of the seawall."  As in, between the seawall and the Gulf.

[Houston19514]

20 minutes ago, mollusk said:

According to the attached .pdf, it does mean "in front of the seawall."  As in, between the seawall and the Gulf.

 

I didn't think the seawall extended that far east.

[Houston19514]

28 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

 

I didn't think the seawall extended that far east.

 

I see now that the seawall does go out there... it's just not as tall.  (edit button does not work)

[Elseed]

I wonder if they'll ever be a Hampton's like atmosphere in Galveston? Or If they'll ever have any developments for the uber rich.

Edited July 4, 2018 by Elseed

[Reefmonkey]

On 7/4/2018 at 4:36 PM, Elseed said:

I wonder if they'll ever be a Hampton's like atmosphere in Galveston? Or If they'll ever have any developments for the uber rich.

 

Enough with wanting Galveston to be the Hamptons. Why is Galveston "supposed" to be like the Hamptons instead of just being Galveston? Should every beach resort town near a major metropolitan area be transformed into a soulless Hamptons clone for the "uber rich" and "uber rich" wannabes?

[Elseed]

On 12/19/2018 at 1:54 PM, Reefmonkey said:

 

Enough with wanting Galveston to be the Hamptons. Why is Galveston "supposed" to be like the Hamptons instead of just being Galveston? Should every beach resort town near a major metropolitan area be transformed into a soulless Hamptons clone for the "uber rich" and "uber rich" wannabes?

 

You're probably not very good in business. Nor do you have an imagination; pity.

[Texasota]

Catering to the "uber rich" is pretty much the exact opposite of "having an imagination." Galveston has enough actual problems that should be addressed; turning it into a playground for the wealthy would not be helpful.

[Ross]

13 hours ago, Elseed said:

 

You're probably not very good in business. Nor do you have an imagination; pity.

Galveston is fine as it is. There is no need for any further big development. There's no reason to turn the Island into a Texas version of Miami Beach, or any other place. In fact, making the entire island a state park with minimal development would be great.

[ttuchris]

What is the history of the lots outside the seawall?  Were they originally city blocks that just erroded over the years?  

[IronTiger]

53 minutes ago, ttuchris said:

What is the history of the lots outside the seawall?  Were they originally city blocks that just erroded over the years?  

There were a few buildings that extended on piers beyond the Seawall that were wiped out after Ike (others existed in years before). Murdoch's rebuilt, but others like the Balinese Room or Hooters were destroyed.

[zaphod]

Will the public still be able to use the beach or are they taking away a beach to give to private interests?

 

Is this a result of the demise of the open beaches act? What a shame, I can't believe they would approve something like this.

[Ross]

1 hour ago, zaphod said:

Will the public still be able to use the beach or are they taking away a beach to give to private interests?

 

Is this a result of the demise of the open beaches act? What a shame, I can't believe they would approve something like this.

It's all pretty complicated. The Open Beaches law doesn't apply to this beach. There's more information here 

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/columnists/greater-houston/article/Galveston-still-struggling-with-public-vs-private-12363957.php

 

Open in an incognito window to avoid the paywall

[Elseed]

On 12/24/2018 at 8:00 AM, Texasota said:

Catering to the "uber rich" is pretty much the exact opposite of "having an imagination." Galveston has enough actual problems that should be addressed; turning it into a playground for the wealthy would not be helpful.

 

Nah, thats limited thinking. Thats a very old school backwards texan type thinking.  Turning it into a playground for the rich would be ideal. 

On 12/24/2018 at 11:39 AM, Ross said:

Galveston is fine as it is. There is no need for any further big development. There's no reason to turn the Island into a Texas version of Miami Beach, or any other place. In fact, making the entire island a state park with minimal development would be great.

 

It would be awesome if it could be a hybrid of South Beach and New Orleans. Its kinda lame as it is. 

[Reefmonkey]

On 12/23/2018 at 9:45 PM, Elseed said:

 

You're probably not very good in business. Nor do you have an imagination; pity.

 Seems you're the one without any imagination as you seem to need every beach town to be some artificial Disneyfied simulacrum of another place in order for you to be able to enjoy it. And it's obvious from your other "make it like the Hamptons" post in the other thread, you actually have very little knowledge of what Galveston actually has to offer, as you were completely unaware of Beachtown until someone else brought it up, and your calls for a "crystal clear blue lagoon", which can only be accomplished via chlorination, are already available on the island at Moody Garden's Palm Beach and Schlitterbahn. I'd say that you should spend more time on the island so that you actually know what the island has to offer before you start dictating what it "needs", but it would be better if you just stayed away. Since Galveston in 2016 brought in nearly 3 times the visitors of the Florida Keys, it doesn't need visitors like you to "discover" what the rest of us already know and appreciate about it.

[Reefmonkey]

On 12/30/2018 at 10:44 PM, Elseed said:

 

Nah, thats limited thinking. Thats a very old school backwards texan type thinking.

 

Oh yeah, and pushing for spending large sums of money for intensive luxury developments on a low-lying, hurricane-prone barrier island in a time of rising sea levels is just so "forward thinking."🙄 You accuse me of “not being good at business,” but assessing risk is an important part of business you’re apparently completely clueless about.

 

Another point on your ridiculous "let's make Galveston a playground for the uber rich" premise, at the end of the canal my family's vacation home in Galveston is on, is a house that belonged to Ken Lay of Enron until his death. The next canal over, the house that Joe Jamail built in 1987 after he was the winning lawyer on the Texaco-Pennzoil lawsuit. The $10.5 billion dollar judgement was the largest in history to date, and the joke was that Jamail let Pennzoil keep some of the money. Galveston has been a playground for the uber rich of Houston for over 30 years (at least), even before it had the "crystal clear lagoon" (which it has now had in Palm Beach at Moody Gardens for over 20), and even without "Hamptons-type developments". Any uber-rich person who still finds Galveston lacking isn't going to be swayed into making the hour and a half drive to Galveston by the addition of another "crystal clear blue lagoon" chlorinated pool or more Beachtown-like developments, he's going to hop in his G6 and either go to the real Hamptons or the Caribbean in 2 and a half hours. Anyone who is "good at business" would tell you that suggestiong Galveston try to capture that market is idiotic.

Edited January 3, 2019 by Reefmonkey

[Elseed]

On 1/2/2019 at 11:54 AM, Reefmonkey said:

 Seems you're the one without any imagination as you seem to need every beach town to be some artificial Disneyfied simulacrum of another place in order for you to be able to enjoy it. And it's obvious from your other "make it like the Hamptons" post in the other thread, you actually have very little knowledge of what Galveston actually has to offer, as you were completely unaware of Beachtown until someone else brought it up, and your calls for a "crystal clear blue lagoon", which can only be accomplished via chlorination, are already available on the island at Moody Garden's Palm Beach and Schlitterbahn. I'd say that you should spend more time on the island so that you actually know what the island has to offer before you start dictating what it "needs", but it would be better if you just stayed away. Since Galveston in 2016 brought in nearly 3 times the visitors of the Florida Keys, it doesn't need visitors like you to "discover" what the rest of us already know and appreciate about it.

 

Nah, I like my idea better.

[Elseed]

On 1/2/2019 at 12:10 PM, Reefmonkey said:

 

Oh yeah, and pushing for spending large sums of money for intensive luxury developments on a low-lying, hurricane-prone barrier island in a time of rising sea levels is just so "forward thinking."🙄 You accuse me of “not being good at business,” but assessing risk is an important part of business you’re apparently completely clueless about.

 

Another point on your ridiculous "let's make Galveston a playground for the uber rich" premise, at the end of the canal my family's vacation home in Galveston is on, is a house that belonged to Ken Lay of Enron until his death. The next canal over, the house that Joe Jamail built in 1987 after he was the winning lawyer on the Texaco-Pennzoil lawsuit. The $10.5 billion dollar judgement was the largest in history to date, and the joke was that Jamail let Pennzoil keep some of the money. Galveston has been a playground for the uber rich of Houston for over 30 years (at least), even before it had the "crystal clear lagoon" (which it has now had in Palm Beach at Moody Gardens for over 20), and even without "Hamptons-type developments". Any uber-rich person who still finds Galveston lacking isn't going to be swayed into making the hour and a half drive to Galveston by the addition of another "crystal clear blue lagoon" chlorinated pool or more Beachtown-like developments, he's going to hop in his G6 and either go to the real Hamptons or the Caribbean in 2 and a half hours. Anyone who is "good at business" would tell you that suggestiong Galveston try to capture that market is idiotic.

 

Nah, it'll be worth it.

[Reefmonkey]

Well those were certainly compelling arguments. 🙄

[AnTonY]

@Elseed, the reactionaries will never understand the ideals that you are aiming for.

[Reefmonkey]

We understand them very well, enough to realize they are unworkable and irresponsible. Trying to convert Galveston into an artificial shadow of the Hamptons or Miami Beach makes far less sense than playing up its natural similarities to Savannah or Charleston, which is a hot destination right now.

Edited March 19, 2019 by Reefmonkey

[AnTonY]

On 3/19/2019 at 8:18 AM, Reefmonkey said:

We understand them very well, enough to realize they are unworkable and irresponsible. Trying to convert Galveston into an artificial shadow of the Hamptons or Miami Beach makes far less sense than playing up its natural similarities to Savannah or Charleston, which is a hot destination right now.

 

I don't think his idea was to "copy Miami Beach or Hamptons" in so much as its just advocation of general growth/improvement of Galveston. 

[Reefmonkey]

He doesn't even know what he's advocating, he can't articulate it. Try asking him for any details at all:

 

 

On 12/10/2018 at 1:56 PM, Elseed said:

There should be a crystal blue lagoon development in Galveston. Along with some Hampton's type development. 

 

 

On 12/17/2018 at 6:56 AM, Reefmonkey said:

What exactly do you mean by “crystal blue lagoon development “?

And what do you mean by “Hampton’s type  development?”  The Hamptons are a bunch of 200-300 year old towns, how do we recreate that artificially and why should we want to try to become an inferior wannabe clone of a NY East Coast experience  instead of the authentic Gulf Coast town we already are?

 

 

On 12/23/2018 at 9:43 PM, Elseed said:

 What I mean is; there should be a a crystal clear blue lagoon development created in/around Galveston Beach. This project would be close to the beach and it will have a crystal clear blue lagoon anchoring it.

As for “Hampton’s type  development”, I mean; there should be a “Hampton’s type  development" in Galveston. No one said it has to be exactly like the Hampton's, that's why I wrote; “Hampton’s type  development." Notice the word "type." This development doesn't have to be inferior and it could essentially be just a neighborhood; at first. Then it can grow to whatever the developers or the city's hearts desires. Also, the "authentic Gulf Coast town" experience is a pretty crappy experience if you ask me. You've got to have vision Reefmonkey or you'll just continue to make the same crappy development that Houston and Texas is so used too.

 

 

Edited March 20, 2019 by Reefmonkey

[mollusk]

[Elseed]

On 3/20/2019 at 1:33 PM, AnTonY said:

 

I don't think his idea was to "copy Miami Beach or Hamptons" in so much as its just advocation of general growth/improvement of Galveston. 

 

 

You sir have hit the target.

[Elseed]

On 3/20/2019 at 5:07 PM, Reefmonkey said:

He doesn't even know what he's advocating, he can't articulate it. Try asking him for any details at all:

 

 

On 12/10/2018 at 1:56 PM, Elseed said:

There should be a crystal blue lagoon development in Galveston. Along with some Hampton's type development. 

 

 

On 12/17/2018 at 6:56 AM, Reefmonkey said:

What exactly do you mean by “crystal blue lagoon development “?

And what do you mean by “Hampton’s type  development?”  The Hamptons are a bunch of 200-300 year old towns, how do we recreate that artificially and why should we want to try to become an inferior wannabe clone of a NY East Coast experience  instead of the authentic Gulf Coast town we already are?

 

 

On 12/23/2018 at 9:43 PM, Elseed said:

 What I mean is; there should be a a crystal clear blue lagoon development created in/around Galveston Beach. This project would be close to the beach and it will have a crystal clear blue lagoon anchoring it.

As for “Hampton’s type  development”, I mean; there should be a “Hampton’s type  development" in Galveston. No one said it has to be exactly like the Hampton's, that's why I wrote; “Hampton’s type  development." Notice the word "type." This development doesn't have to be inferior and it could essentially be just a neighborhood; at first. Then it can grow to whatever the developers or the city's hearts desires. Also, the "authentic Gulf Coast town" experience is a pretty crappy experience if you ask me. You've got to have vision Reefmonkey or you'll just continue to make the same crappy development that Houston and Texas is so used too.

 

 

 

Maybe I didn't articulate it perfectly but AnTonY gets it. Galveston has so much potential. It has potential to be a Savannah or Charleston or whatever it wants itself to be.

The problem is people like you who have no vision, no pride in your community, and quite frankly, "no swag" want Galveston to be the same or at best a poor mans Mobile, Alabama ( No offense to Mobile). If people like you were with the Allen Bros in 1836 all you would've saw is a mosquito infested swamp not a thriving port city that they envisioned. You probably called Tillman a fool for wanting to build a boardwalk even after the original got destroyed, but he still did it; visionary. You would've probably be against spending millions in developing Discovery Green in Downtown Houston but somebody thought it was a great idea; a vision. Whatever Galveston does it MUST be world class. Its got too much going for it not to be: close to a major metropolis, beaches, charming urban city center, historically preserved buildings, close to at least 4 other major cities (N.O., S.A., Dallas, ATX), theme parks. Having nothing less than the best or should I say aiming for nothing less than the best is really doing Galveston a disservice. So there you have it. Oh, but one thing that is clear as day is; this whole topic has really gotten your panties in a bunch lol. Its OK snowflake we're on the same team. No need to be a NIMBY.

[arche_757]

The idea of a large body of water that is manmade that is inviting and perhaps a part of a larger resort setting would be good for Galveston.  Instead... we’re getting that in... Texas City!!  

[Reefmonkey]

11 hours ago, Elseed said:

 

Maybe I didn't articulate it perfectly but AnTonY gets it. Galveston has so much potential. It has potential to be a Savannah or Charleston or whatever it wants itself to be.

The problem is people like you who have no vision, no pride in your community, and quite frankly, "no swag" want Galveston to be the same or at best a poor mans Mobile, Alabama ( No offense to Mobile). If people like you were with the Allen Bros in 1836 all you would've saw is a mosquito infested swamp not a thriving port city that they envisioned. You probably called Tillman a fool for wanting to build a boardwalk even after the original got destroyed, but he still did it; visionary. You would've probably be against spending millions in developing Discovery Green in Downtown Houston but somebody thought it was a great idea; a vision. Whatever Galveston does it MUST be world class. Its got too much going for it not to be: close to a major metropolis, beaches, charming urban city center, historically preserved buildings, close to at least 4 other major cities (N.O., S.A., Dallas, ATX), theme parks. Having nothing less than the best or should I say aiming for nothing less than the best is really doing Galveston a disservice. So there you have it. Oh, but one thing that is clear as day is; this whole topic has really gotten your panties in a bunch lol. Its OK snowflake we're on the same team. No need to be a NIMBY.

 

You and Antony can socially groom each other all you want, but you still have no idea what you are talking about, either about me or Galveston. I never said I was anti-development, I welcome quality, sensible development;  I merely  asked you to elaborate on your vague assertions of "crystal clear blue lagoon" and "Hamptons-type" development and you couldn't. If you can't do that, then you're the one without any "vision". "Vision" isn't "yeah, let's develop more, and make it something swag," vision is actually having a detailed and sustainable plan. Vision isn't trying to copy someone else, which is all you've been able to offer with your "let's be like the Hamptons and Miami", you want Galveston to be a lame wannabe Hamptons or Miami instead of something unique. And at the most basic level, knowing what is already there is a prerequisite for vision, and you don't know jack, you didn't know about Beachtown, didn't know about Palm Beach at Moody Gardens or Schiltterbahn. So the more you try to camoflague your lack of vision or knowledge in made up straw man mischaracterizations of me or use of moronic dudebro insults like "no swag" and "snowflake", the more transparently pathetic you are. As for anyone having their "panties in a bunch" over this thread, it's been lying dormant now for almost a month, you're the one who revived it with your juvenile chest-thumping macho rant, so simmer down, son. The fumes from your Axe body spray seem to be going to your head.

Edited April 16, 2019 by Reefmonkey

[Reefmonkey]

11 hours ago, arche_757 said:

The idea of a large body of water that is manmade that is inviting and perhaps a part of a larger resort setting would be good for Galveston.  Instead... we’re getting that in... Texas City!!  

 

 

http://www.moodygardens.com/attractions/palmbeach/

 

https://www.schlitterbahn.com/galveston