The new, $15 million home for the Port of Corpus Christi Center for Wildlife Rescue opens on March 2 at the Texas State Aquarium. The center is relocating from a converted warehouse on Rincon Road that it has occupied since 1995.
The 26,000-square-foot center will be the largest coastal wildlife operation in Texas and the only one in the state that can treat shorebirds, sea turtles, raptors, and marine mammals. The facility will have the latest in medical equipment, including the only wildlife-specific CAT scan in Texas.
When it moves into its larger quarters, the Port of Corpus Christi Center for Wildlife Rescue will be able to treat up to 3,000 sea turtles at a time, giving it the largest such capacity in the country. In addition, it will permit public access, allowing visitors to view animals being treated and rehabilitated.
The aquarium began planning the rescue center in 2019 and broke ground in 2021. Donations from the city of Corpus Christi, the Port of Corpus Christi, Valero, the ExxonMobil Foundation, and the Dobson Family of Foundations helped fund the project. 
The March opening will mark the Texas State Aquarium's first expansion since 2017, when it opened the Caribbean Journey exhibit.
chuck@thepicayune.com