Representative Mayes Middleton files bill to put Pelican Island to work for our economy and our community
AUSTIN, TEXAS, March 4th, 2019– Recently, Representative Mayes Middleton filed legislation to help ensure unused deep water port land on Pelican Island is put into productive use.
Middleton said in a statement: “The power of government should not be used to stifle free enterprise. We must ensure that all Pelican Island’s deep-water port space is put to work for the People of Galveston and the People of Texas.” Representative Middleton has filed House Bill 1776 requiring the development or sale of over 1,200 acres of unused land on Pelican Island to any for-profit entity.
Representative Middleton continued, “Pelican Island has incredible potential for the Galveston economy, but we can never realize that potential as long as a large portion of Pelican Island sits idle and undeveloped. This legislation will help grow our economy by putting this land back to work.”
Pelican Island and Pelican Spit Pre 1880’s
When Galveston was founded, Pelican Island was a windswept sand dune and a shell reef alongside the Texas City ship channel of today with a few hundred feet of dry soil, and Pelican Spit was a smaller sandbar located approximately where Sea Wolf Park is today. Pelican Island and Pelican spit are now joined as one small island north of Galveston Harbor (at 29°20′ N, 94°48′ W). The island is directly north of the Galveston Harbor docks and provides protection for the harbor from the open Galveston Bay. The island also protects the ship channel leading to the wharf area.
In 1815, Pelican Island was described as merely a narrow slip of a marsh, on which it was impossible to walk dry-footed, except on a spot that was a hundred feet over, which was all that was dry. The marsh was covered with seaweed growing in the mud, and covered with water at all ordinary tides, and was not visible at any distance off
Navigation Chart 1852
On Feb. 2, 1856, the State legislature deeded Pelican Island and spit to the City of Galveston. That sand spit is now called Pelican Island. It took the City 16 years to get around to recording the deed in the county Clerk’s Office, in 1872.
In 1859, the Federal Government began construction of a fort on Pelican Island. After Texas seceded in 1861, the Confederate States finished it with barracks, 5 guns and storehouses.
In the early 1950’s, L. Walter Henslee, a director of the Galveston Housing Authority invited some investors from New York (he had met their lawyer in Washington while conducting business for the Housing Authority). Mayor Maurice Y. Cartwright initiated the program to bring them in to develop Pelican Island, which would require access. In 1953 the City of Galveston signed a development contract with Allen & Co. & associates which was eventually transferred to Pelican Island Development Corp. (PIDC), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Merritt, Chapman and Scott Corp. from New York. Under that
In 1965, George Mitchell and Mitchell – Dobbins Land Development Corp., donated 100 acres of property on Pelican Island for the permanent site of the Texas Maritime Academy (now Texas A&M University at Galveston). In 1970 the ship berth was constructed for the T.S Texas Clipper and in 1971 the first administration and classroom building was inaugurated on the Mitchell Campus. In 1971, the campus had ninety one students, today there are over 2,500 students attending Texas A&M University at Galveston.
Today Pelican Island is the site of Texas A&M University at Galveston, the Texas Maritime Academy, an oil terminal, several offshore supply and service docks, lightering service docks, GalTex pilots office and dock, shipyards, and other industries. Together they add millions in contribution to the county’s economic activity each year. The land on Pelican Island is valued at around $74,000,000.00, and additional assets located there add the lion’s share to the tax base for the City of Galveston.
From the mid 1850’s to today, there has been a constant discussion about developing Pelican Island’s available greenfield acreage. From a narrow slip of marsh to an Island of about 3,200 acres, the Island has an average annual growth of almost 20 acres per year. This growth has come almost solely from local dredging. The bulk of the acreage was from the development dredging carried out by Pelican Island Development Corp., and the dredging of the Galveston channel and harbor. There is currently a 90 acre dredge spoil placement area in use by the Port of Galveston, and more than 1,200 acres of spoil placement area in use by the US Army Corp of Engineers. The Port of Houston owns over 1,000 acres of undeveloped land and The Port of Galveston has about 550 acres on Pelican Island, 285 of those are undeveloped. That includes some 100 acres with frontage on Galveston’s deep water harbor, most of the remainder is on the eastern coast of the island parallel to the Houston Ship Channel.
The Pelican Island Bridge that opened in 1958 has allowed the current Pelican Island businesses and Texas A&M to survive. The bridge has recently been determined to be obsolete and with limited life. The load weight limits for the bridge have been reduced to levels unsuitable for heavy industry. Over the last several years plans have been initiated for a new bridge. The most recent initiative is being made by the Galveston County Commissioners Court which is working with the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) .
Three bridge options have been proposed:
- Option 1 would run just to the east of the existing bridge along the same right of way. It’s the cheapest option, $65 million.
- Option 2 would be built 60 feet west of the existing bridge and would alleviate traffic through part — but not all — of the Texas A&M campus. The estimated cost is $81 million.
- Option 3 would loop to the west, require more right of way and a longer span. The estimated cost is $121 million.
Maritime related businesses are vital to the local and regional economies. A recent Economic Impact of Galveston County’s Maritime Industry Cluster, carried out by Martin and Associates concludes that the industry creates 32,569 jobs in Galveston County. The average wage of an employee in the Maritime sector is $66,283, which is more than fifty percent higher than the average wage in the county. Maritime businesses create $196,000,000 in state and local taxes, $2,600,000,000 in personal income locally, and $7,700,000,000 in business revenues for the county. Opening up the properties on Pelican Island with industrial road and rail access, would undoubtedly create development on the deep water and shallow water greenfield properties, as well as increase business activity at the existing business located on the Island. This would seemingly create an economic boom for the local businesses in the city and the county.
Research for this post was carried out at the Rosenberg Library and from archives of the Galveston County Daily News, by Jonathan Hale and Leonard Hale. Both of us are employees of Gulf Copper and Manufacturing Inc., which leases property on Pelican Island from the Port of Galveston, operated as Gulf Copper Dry Dock and Rig Repair.
