Port to hear presentations from Naval Station Ingleside buyers
CORPUS CHRISTI Five companies that submitted proposals to buy 916 acres in Ingleside are expected to make presentations to Port of Corpus Christi commissioners starting at 9 a.m. today. The joint meeting of the commission and its Naval Station Ingleside committee will be at the Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center.
Apex Investment Group, Corpus Development, Ingleside Technology Park, Secure World Trade and Service Marine Group will give 10 minute presentations, said John LaRue, the port’s executive director. Tan International Group, which is listed on the agenda as a presenter, will not give a presentation, LaRue said.
One of Apex’s companies, SwiftShips Shipbuilders, manufactures vessels and is looking at Ingleside to establish another shipbuilding location. SwiftShips has been a patrol boat builder since 1969 and has designed and built more than 580 vessels, ranging from 35 feet to 225 feet.
Houston-based Apex is interested in leasing or buying all the acreage, using some of it and leasing out the rest.
Leon Heron is heading Corpus Development, which wants to buy all the property for a mixed-use, light industrial project, LaRue said. Heron also proposed the $870 million Live Oak Preserve in Ingleside, directly across from the port’s 916 acres.
“He sees the advantage of having homes on one side and jobs on the other,” LaRue said.
Ronald Veatch, owner of Ingleside Technology Park, met with port officials Wednesday about his hope of buying the property to manufacture, sell, install and maintain hydraulic systems for the oil and gas industry. Veatch also owns Flow Products International Management, which sells hydraulic systems, and Flow Products International Technology, which develops technology for the oil and gas industry.
If the port agrees to a sell, Veatch said his team could be on the property in one minute cleaning out buildings and preparing to upgrade and add infrastructure. He also plans to use part of it and lease the rest.
Rockwall-based Secure World Trade also wants the property for its rapid, automated container transit system, which would use high speed rail to move its cargo.
Service Marine Group plans to buy the site for its vessel repair service and lease the rest.
Committee members might recommend to the commission that port staff be authorized to negotiate an agreement for the purchase or lease of the former Naval Station Ingleside and 433 adjacent acres. The commission, if it receives such a recommendation from the committee, might vote to allow such negotiations, according to the agenda.
Commissioners also might vote to amend the development services agreement with its master developer, Texas A&M University System. The proposed amendment would extend the date by which the port must grant an 8 percent commission to the university system.
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