Flour Bluff ISD students see canal work at Whitecap Preserve

Olivia Garrett, Corpus Christi Caller Times
·2 min read

Watching as workers installed a bulkhead along the nearly-complete canal system Wednesday, Flour Bluff ISD students got a behind-the-scenes look at the planned Whitecap Preserve development on North Padre Island.

Project engineers LJA Engineering invited students from Flour Bluff ISD science and construction classes to visit the site and see some of the canal work. The developers, Ashlar Development, have also partnered with the district's Oceans Program — students will be able to visit the development's wetland for marine science lessons.

"This project is a great one to really showcase because it runs the gamut of all the different disciplines in civil engineering," LJA Engineering public works vice president Jeff Coym told the students.

Flour Bluff STEM students on a field trip gather around Jeff Coym, LJA Engineering vice president, while he explains a master planned community and preserve project on North Padre Island, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Flour Bluff STEM students on a field trip gather around Jeff Coym, LJA Engineering vice president, while he explains a master planned community and preserve project on North Padre Island, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Included in the project are canals, roads and bridges. Eventually, the project will include hundreds of homes, as well as hotels, retail shops and marine facilities.

The Whitecap canals will link to existing dead-end canals and Packery Channel, allowing waters from the Gulf of Mexico and Laguna Madre to flow through the canal systems.

"It's all about circulation and trying to get some of these old, Padre Island dead-end canals some oxygenated waters," Coym said. "...The oxygen levels in here are very depleted and so the wildlife is too."

Flour Bluff STEM students on a field trip watch a construction crew work on a bulkhead for Whitecap North Padre Island, master planned community and preserve project, on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Flour Bluff STEM students on a field trip watch a construction crew work on a bulkhead for Whitecap North Padre Island, master planned community and preserve project, on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Some canal walls are bulkheads, others are "living shorelines" which will create habitats for mangroves and breeding fish.

The project will also include a 26-acre nature park in the center of the development, which will include a freshwater pond to attract migratory birds.

Jeff Coym, LJA Engineering vice president, holds up a packet explaining a master planned community and preserve project for Flour Bluff STEM students to see on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Jeff Coym, LJA Engineering vice president, holds up a packet explaining a master planned community and preserve project for Flour Bluff STEM students to see on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas.

"I like that they took into consideration wildlife — rocks to keep mangroves coming in and better airflow for all the canals," Flour Bluff High School sophomore Jay Johnson said.

Students were also interested in seeing the work that goes into a large development.

"I think it's cool seeing in the plans that they show how it's going to look and seeing how they're going to get there," freshman Brody Smith said.

Flour Bluff junior Tristen Corpuz looks at a packet on the Whitecap North Padre Island master planned community and preserve while on a field trip to the construction site on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas. A construction crew works on a bulkhead in the background.
Flour Bluff junior Tristen Corpuz looks at a packet on the Whitecap North Padre Island master planned community and preserve while on a field trip to the construction site on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Corpus Christi, Texas. A construction crew works on a bulkhead in the background.

The canal system will be complete by March. Work will begin this week on the Commodores Drive Bridge project, a five-lane bridge that will allow boat traffic underneath and connect the north and south sides of the island.

The master-planned residential community is located on 242-acres near Commodores Drive, the site of the former Waves Resort Corpus Christi.

Corpus Christi City Council approves rezoning for $800 million Whitecap Preserve community

More on the island: Corpus Christi's Lake Padre plans for housing, restaurants, entertainment

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Flour Bluff ISD, Whitecap Preserve developers partner for school trip