About 250 residents have first look Tuesday night at two design concepts for Destination Bayfront

CORPUS CHRISTI More trees, a boardwalk and a central place for food and retail vendors along the waterfront in downtown are part of a design that could be an economic catalyst for Corpus Christi.

About 250 people had a first look Tuesday night at two design concepts for a 27-acre public site. San Francisco-based firm Hargreaves Associates is leading a team to come up with a master plan for Destination Bayfront a group of local business leaders spearheading an effort to redevelop the city-owned space.

"This is a game-changer for the future of this city," Mayor Joe Adame said at the start of the meeting. "We have to be committed as a community that we are going to get this done."

One option divides the public space into five "rooms" with parking in between and along Shoreline Boulevard for better access. The rooms include a children's play area near McGee Beach, a family area for lawn games, picnics and birthday parties, an open lawn area to host festivals, Sherrill Park and an art plaza near the Corpus Christi Art Center at Coopers Alley.

A second option incorporates the same five areas for public use, but blends them into a continuous space without interruptions for parking areas. Parking for this concept would extend along Shoreline Boulevard on the edge of the park.

Tuesday night was the first of four public meetings during the eight-month planning process, which began in January. It's a chance for the design team to gauge what the public likes and dislikes about the concepts.

"We are still very much in a listening mode," Hargreaves Associates Senior Principal Mary Margaret Jones said.

Hargreaves is working with a team of architects, engineers, economic development analysts, real estate brokers and a public relations firm to write a plan for a public-private partnership of the park space. Their work will include costs for design, building, operating and maintaining the park, and how it could work as an economic spark plug for the city.

Jones has compared Corpus Christi's bayfront to the firm's Discovery Green park, which before it was redeveloped, was an empty 12-acre space in downtown Houston. Discovery Green, which includes water features and retail buildings, cost about $31 million to build.

The first year Discovery Green was open, it attracted more than 1 million visitors, and it has generated about $1 billion in private investment in that area, she said. Local chambers of commerce are planning a visit to the site April 21.

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About 250 residents have first look Tuesday night at two design concepts for Destination Bayfront