PORT NECHES — The once bustling downtown area of Port Neches is making a comeback.

Upgrades to Port Neches Riverfront Park, such as Tugboat Island play ground and a large splash park are already in place as well as 88-acres of property ready for development along the river.

Infrastructure work for Port Neches Avenue is in the works as well as a zoning change to allow for a business downtown district.

A new city hall/emergency operations center is also in the works, to be funded mostly through state and federal grants.

But the changes will not be made overnight.

Port Neches Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Debbie Plaia is excited about the revitalization of Port Neches Avenue in downtown Port Neches.

“From a chamber stand point, we’re excited,” Plaia said. “We’re ecstatic to think the avenue is on the road to recovery and that people want to come back to the avenue. We’re looking forward to getting bigger and better and to see more people come to the downtown area.”

Andrè Wimer, city manager, spoke about the proposed projects.

The city is currently seeking bids to replace the underground infrastructure along Port Neches Avenue. The project will entail replacing water and sewer lines as well as resurfacing the street.

“There has been discussion over the years of revitalizing Port Neches Avenue and, in the long term view of this, this project is the first step,” Wimer said. “The infrastructure is aging and needs to be replaced and the infrastructure needs to be in place before any enhancements are made.”

The nearby city of Nederland has seen a revitalization of its historic Boston Avenue through the years. Brick paved walkways, park benches and street lights enhance the 100-plus-year-old street courtesy of grants as well as additional parking areas created with the assistance of the city’s economic development corporation.

Wimer said the city of Port Neches applied for a similar Texas Department of Transportation grant to enhance Port Neches Avenue but was denied funding at that time.

In the long term scheme of things, the idea of reapplying for the grant in the future for enhancements along the avenue is something the city would like to do but is dependent on the availability of the grant funding.

City leaders are also looking at a zoning amendment to allow for some changes along the avenue.

When the current zoning ordinance was adopted in 2007, city leaders contemplated adding a mixed use zone to allow for commercial and residential. Then, in May, council authorized staff to move forward on the issue. The proposed changes to the ordinance will be discussed in a joint public hearing between city council and the city’s planning and zoning commission in August, then back to the P&Z in early September for review. City council will hear the issue again, tentatively in mid-September for recommendation, Wimer said.

The zoning change, if approved, will allow for a business-downtown zone. This would allow for a building to have a commercial business on the bottom floor and residential loft with a minimum of 600-square-feet upstairs.

Persons wishing to have the floor plan different, such as residential downstairs and commercial upstairs would require a conditional use permit approved by the city’s P&Z.

One of the city’s plans for changes along Port Neches Avenue fell through last week. The city of Port Neches and the Port Neches-Groves ISD had a tentative agreement to swap property among each other in which the city was giving up city hall for a vacant bank building on the avenue.

PN-GISD Superintendent Rodney Cavness said the issue failed when district leaders reassessed their financial situation. Currently, public school funding across the state is in a limbo as the state grapples with a budget shortfall.

The bank building, Cavness said, is appraised at about $90,000 while city hall is appraised at $325,000. Looking at the issue “face value” seemed like a win-win situation at first.

But, Cavness said, issues such as asbestos abatement to city hall, as well as slab issues and roof problems, which are repairable, are costly.

“We cannot allocate this amount of money right now,” Cavness said. “We have teachers who are going without a raise and with the budget uncertainty, this is not good timing.”

Development along the city’s riverfront is also a possibility as well.

Over the past decade, the city acquired two tracts of property, or 88 acres, of land adjacent to Port Neches Riverfront Park. The land, which was home to industry, has been remediatated by the city and is up to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s residential specifications.

Since then, the economy hit a downturn and the property sits vacant awaiting a developer.

Another part of the revitalization equation — city hall/EOC — is moving forward.

Wimer said the final plans for the dual purpose building is almost complete and will hopefully be finalized in the near few weeks.

City leaders began thinking seriously about a new city hall/EOC shortly after Hurricane Rita in 2005. The building would house all city hall offices as well as have areas for emergency operations to be used during and after a disaster.

The city received the green light for a state and a federal grant totaling approximately $3 million. The total project is estimated at $3.5 million.

Plaia is looking forward to the projects and new focus on downtown Port Neches, especially in relation to near century old Port Neches Avenue.

Hurricanes Rita, followed by 2008’s Hurricane Ike, destroyed businesses and left building vacant, she said.

There has been a renewed interest in the avenue, she reports, adding that several new businesses have opened recently with more to come.

mmeaux@panews.com