Consultant: Second-floor expansion of Bob Hall Pier would be unsound
The Nueces County Commissioners Court on Wednesday doubled down on eliminating a second-tier restaurant on the new Bob Hall Pier — an expansion that an engineering consultant said would not be structurally sound.
The commissioners voted during their March 8 meeting to discontinue plans for the second-story restaurant after they learned that guidelines for American Rescue Plan Act funds prohibit the use of the money for new construction and only allow for reconstruction of an existing structure. They also reallocated $2 million of ARPA funds to reconstruction of the pier.
The funds were allocated for the second-floor expansion last year. The pier was damaged by Hurricane Hanna in July 2020.
A second-story covered event deck ranked among the favored features of the proposed concepts for the new pier, according to a survey of 700 respondents last year.
About a dozen people — most of whom wore bright yellow shirts — appeared at the Commissioners Courtroom on Wednesday in support of the Bob Hall Pier expansion.
During the public comment session, Corpus Christi resident and activist Becky Moeller objected to the way the commissioners decided to redirect the money from the second-floor plan, calling it a “drastic change” that was made with little discussion.
The county hired John Michael, senior engineer of Hanson Professional Services Inc., as a consultant on the Bob Hall Pier rebuild. Michael said Wednesday that the existing structure of the pier is about 12 years old and sits “over the Gulf of Mexico, one of the most corrosive environments on the planet.”
As designed, the second floor would have sat partly on the existing structure and partly over a new structure.
“It is not designed to have a second story built over it,” Michael said. “It would not be prudent to take today’s dollars and build a new structure … on top of an old facility that’s got a very limited lifespan.”
Michael also referred to a past rendering of the proposed two-story facility, a layout that he said was “never even possible.”
“The rendering never matched the budget, and it never matched the geometry,” Michael said. “It was a pretty picture.”
He suggested instead expanding the first-floor space. Doing so would mean fewer Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, such as adding an elevator and emergency stairwells, and would reduce overall maintenance for a facility dozens of feet high, Michael said.
Per ARPA guidelines, the project must be complete and operational by the end of 2026.
The county commissioners have approved $27.3 million for the project.
About three-quarters of that money came from sales of certificates of obligation, $6 million came from an insurance settlement stemming from Hurricane Harvey damage and the rest was from ARPA, according to Precinct 4 Commissioner Brent Chesney.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied the county’s requests for aid.
Wednesday’s vote reflected the March 8 vote, at 3-2. Chesney and Precinct 3 Commissioner John Marez voted against the elimination of the plan.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Consultant: Second-floor expansion of Bob Hall Pier would be unsound
