A developer out of California plans to begin building a 100-acre beachfront community along the Bluewater Highway on Follet’s Island, southwest of Galveston Island, next month. Developed by Salt Water Resorts, the so-called Seahorse Beach Club and Residences will sit across Christmas Bay from the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge. A rendering of the 9,000-sq.-ft. eponymous beach club, above, shows a few of the planned amenities: pools, fitness center, spa, a bar, and 2 restaurants.
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These renderings show typical houses, designed by Houston firm Kent and Kent. Plans indicate that there will be 36 of ’em in the community.
- Luxury Beach Houses for Sale [Beach Club at Seahorse]
- Calif. developer moves forward on Gulf beachfront community [Houston Business Journal]
Renderings: Kent and Kent
I don’t know, I’m always torn on Galveston, sometimes I hate it because it’s so dirty and the water is ugly, sometimes I love it because it’s so close to Houston and makes a nice quick getaway.
Welcome to Texas, Californians. Here we have something called “hurricanes.”
Ike completely obliterated Bluewater highway in certain areas:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrchriscornwell/3081907390/in/photostream/
How will 36 houses support two restaurants? I predict that these will go the way of a lot of planned amenities: via the magic eraser.
I’m wondering if the developer will be as “blown away” as I am over these proposed plan.
Hmm, that location is directly across the small channel from the old Ernie’s 2 location, and public boat launch. My favorite spot for launching a kayak into XMas bay. Looks small enough that it won’t have too much impact, and certainly doubt that they bought all of the working-class homes across the small channel (i.e. no gate on seacoast dr.). But man, you’ve got to wonder – why here? I like it and all, but it’s not the sort of environment that I’d expect most luxury home buyers to eat up. Salt flats that look like mud terrain at low tide? I wonder how they’ll feel about that public boat launch across the channel, given how active it gets in the summer, and how many people populate the parking area around it, fishing and drinking.
The development just needs to respect the dune area; the beaches on the far west end of Galveston completely rebuilt themselves after Ike because the dunes were left substantially undeveloped. The center of Galveston island, which has rows of houses sitting on the dunes with at most a thin strip (if that) undeveloped are dependent upon expensive beach restorations; thin beaches that continue to erode.
Aww, man! That’s my favorite spot to take dogs to the beach. No people to disturb other than a few fishermen, and they’re usually done by the time we get there.
What’s the status of the Open Beaches Act? Will these Californians get all freaked out when we start romping on what they think is “their” beach?
I love Galveston. Great place to catch a cruise ship the hell outta town :)
I hope buyers realize how much flood insurance is going to cost them, since premiums are being adjusted to reflect true flood risk. Yikes!
It will be able to support 2 restaurants because I suspect no one will live in those homes year round. They will be vacation homes or rental properties (remember Carole Severance–the Californian whose lawsuit affected the no private beaches in Texas law?–she owned like 3 properties in Galveston for income/investment)and people on vacation don’t like to cook even if you have a gourmet kitchen with SS appliances and granite countertops.
This is the nearest undeveloped beach to Houston which is why I go there to escape the insanity. What a shame.
I live on the gulf coast in south Florida . Don’t let the land developers eat up everything the way they have here.