(Corpus Christi)—Texas A&M
University-Corpus Christi President Flavius Killebrew on Jan. 12
presented a feasibility plan for using the nearby Oso Beach Municipal
Golf Course for future expansion of the university.
The university, located on Ward Island on Corpus Christi Bay, is home to
around 8,600 students. Campus expansion studies have shown that the 240-acre
Ward Island site can only accommodate the people, programs and services
that support around 10,000 students. The recent level of campus growth
indicates that this capacity will be reached within the next few years.
A&M-Corpus Christi officials said that by concentrating academic activities
on the island and shifting the land usage for other units to an additional
site, the university has the opportunity to serve a market potential of
16,000 students.
In predicting the university’s financial potential, university economists
state that for every additional 1,000 students attending A&M-Corpus
Christi, an additional $23 million would be funneled each year into the
Coastal Bend region.
This same number of additional students also would help create another
480 new jobs. An additional enrollment of 6,000 students would mean $140
million in additional annual economic impact and 2,880 jobs.
After discussions between university officials and Corpus Christi leaders
regarding A&M-Corpus Christi’s needs, a graduate student team from
the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M
University was assigned to explore the feasibility of transforming the
273 acres at the nearby Oso Beach Municipal Golf Course into a university
village. This village would accommodate housing, a research park, recreational
sports programs and several campus services.
The design created considered existing water drainage patterns and hydrologic
influences. Future traffic flow, public transportation, open-space trails
and walkways also led to the design presented. The design preserves the
natural wildlife habitat and vegetation of the area and creates a park-like
environment for students and the community, while ensuring land remains
dedicated to serve the university’s continuing growth.
The design divides the acreage to support A&M-Corpus Christi’s needs
and accommodate the quality of life for residents of the adjacent neighborhoods.
More than one-half of the total acreage is dedicated as a public open green
space. 