A rendering of a rebuilt Bob Hall Pier, showing a proposed second-level restaurant and event space. Nueces County commissioners recently shelved plans for the space when they learned the county could not apply American Rescue Plan Act funds to restaurant expansion.
The Nueces County Commissioners Court on March 8 shelved plans for a second-story restaurant expansion and event deck for the new Bob Hall Pier after learning the county could not use American Rescue Plan Act funds for that portion of the project.
Nueces County ARPA Manager Lulu Rivera advised officials that while the overall pier project satisfies ARPA guidelines, the federal government would not allow COVID-19 recovery funding for the restaurant expansion.
Previously, the Commissioners Court, acting on advice from Hagerty Consulting, had allocated $2 million in ARPA funds to the expansion. Commissioners hired Hagerty to advise on using the funds per federal guidelines.
At the meeting, commissioners voted to remove county funding for any restaurant expansion and redirect the money elsewhere within the Bob Hall Pier rebuild.
Nueces County must allocate ARPA funding by the end of 2024. If it funds pier reconstruction, the rebuild must be complete and the pier operational by 2026.
Bob Hall Pier, long a popular North Padre Island landmark, sustained heavy damage from Hurricane Hanna in July 2020. Workers demolished the old structure in September 2022.
chuck@thepicayune.com
