waste away on the island

New $250M Margaritaville Resort set to break ground in Galveston

Margaritaville is coming to Galveston island.

Rendering courtesy of Gensler

Attention Galveston Parrot Heads: a Margaritaville Resort is coming to the island.

The new, 334-room resort, will be located at 317 East Beach Dr. and will occupy 300,000 square feet, marking one of the largest developments in eastern Galveston. This new, $250 million project is the brainchild of RREAF Holdings LLC, a private real estate development firm, and Innisfree Hotels, a beachfront hotel and resort operator.

Plans call for myriad amenities, including pickleball courts, a family entertainment center, a lazy river along with an adult pool, and all the requisite, signature food and beverage offerings that have made the destination a favorite of families and Jimmy Buffett devotees and his no-shoes, beach lovin', pirate vibe.

Kids — and big kids — can look forward to a 2.5-acre elevated water park overlooking the beach. Dining and entertainment comes via four restaurants and a ballroom, perfect for weddings, reunions, parties, and coastal conventions. As this is a beachside resort, an easy trip to the sand and water is key.

Representatives of RREAF Holdings also confirm to CultureMap that the resort will offer for-sale beachside cottages — sure to draw vacation home buyers, rental investors, and more — as reported by Houston Business Journal.

Margaritaville Galveston rendering Boasting some 300,000 square feet, the new Margaritaville will be one of the biggest developments in East Galveston.Rendering courtesy of Galveston

“The Galveston market has exponential growth opportunities stimulated by its economy and the evolution of people moving to Texas in the past two years,” said Kip Sowden, CEO of RREAF Holdings, in an announcement. “We are honored to work with such distinguished companies as Innisfree Hotels and Margaritaville. With best-in-class management and highly amenitized options for our customers, we are offering a premier experience in a well-positioned hospitality asset for a fruitful future.”

With a new Galveston outpost, Margaritaville fans and loyalists (Parrot Heads) can now choose from the lakeside location in Conroe or the beachside island retreat.

A new Margaritaville also means expanded options for Galveston tourists and visitors among Tilman Fertitta’s San Luis Resort, the newly renovated Hotel Galvez, the just-opened new Hotel Lucine, and other hospitality.

Current plans call for the project to break ground in early 2024 as RREAF Holdings has now secured the necessary City of Galveston approvals, per press materials.

Already dotting beaches and coasts along the U.S., Mexico, and even the Dominican Republic, Margaritaville is aggressively expanding with beach resort (such as South Padre Island in Texas), and all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras.

Could Buffett — a self-dubbed "Pirate" who refused to adult and made beaches, boats, sandals, beers and margs, and day drinking — he coined the phrase "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere," after all — envisioned a hotel and resort empire inspired by his songs?

Jimmy Buffett dogs Ken Hoffman Buffett (with his beloved dogs just days before he passed away) spent some quality time with our columnist. Jimmy Buffett/Facebook

Perhaps. Regardless, it's easy to imagine that the pirate — who passed away just last year and spent some quality time with CultureMap columnist Ken Hoffman — is raising a glass somewhere.

News for campers

Lake Palestine in East Texas will be home to new 650-acre state park

Photo courtesy of Texas Land

Lake Palestine will be the site of a new state park.

East Texas is gaining a new state park at Lake Palestine that will include amenities like hike-and-bike trails, campsites, and lakefront access.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation has paid more than $10 million for a 650-acre ranch at Lake Palestine that will be converted into a state park, the agency says. If the park opened today, it would be the 90th state park in Texas.

The ranch, roughly 100 miles southeast of Dallas, had been on the market for a little less than $10 million. Roughly 60 percent of the ranch is wooded, and about 40 percent is pastureland.

The foundation will make improvements to the site, about 18 miles west of Tyler, before handing it over to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in late 2027. That’s when funding from the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund will become available for the department to acquire the property.

The deal preserves one of the last large habitat sites in that part of East Texas and will ultimately expand public access to Lake Palestine. The lake encompasses more than 25,500 acres and touches four counties. White-tailed deer, bobcats, and waterfowl are among the creatures that populate the habitat.

“Opportunities to protect a property like this don’t come along very often, and when they do, timing is critical,” Anne Brown, the foundation’s executive director, said in a release. She said the land will “ultimately become a place where generations of Texans can enjoy the outdoors.”

The Pollard family had owned the ranch, which housed their pecan farm, since 1940. Aside from the pecan orchard, the property includes pine forests, ponds, a seven-acre lake, and Lake Palestine frontage.

Sam Pollard, president of Texas Pecan Nursery, said the property “is part of my soul. It means a lot to me that we can leave a legacy for people to enjoy.”

The foundation says visitors to the future park will be able to enjoy blufftop views of the lake, watch wildlife and birds, and walk around the pecan orchard. They’ll also be able to take advantage of boating, paddling, swimming, and fishing at Lake Palestine.

Rodney Franklin, director of the state park system, called the site an “East Texas gem” and thanked the Pollards for enabling “this special slice of the Pineywoods to be accessible for generations of Texans.”

The parks and wildlife agency plans to create the park in phases, starting with guided access, followed by daytime access and then full-day and overnight access. The agency will invite public input about the park’s development.

Planned amenities include hike-and-bike trails, traditional and primitive campsites, day-use areas and lakefront access.

The NextEra Energy Foundation, a philanthropic arm of NextEra Energy and NextEra Energy Resources, chipped in $100,000 to support the future park. NextEra supplies electricity to about one million customers in Texas, mostly through its Gexa Energy subsidiary.

In addition, the wildlife foundation tapped into the state’s Land Conservation Loan Fund for the ranch purchase. The voter-approved, donor-supported fund aids land conservation efforts. Dallas-based Lyda Hill Philanthropies was an inaugural backer of the loan fund.