Home sweet rental? 10,000 new workers to Ingleside, Gregory, Portland

INGLESIDE – Ingleside, Gregory and Portland have been enjoying the benefits that have come with the new business boom. However, they are also wrestling with a tremendous scarcity of housing and high rents.

Industries are expected to bring as many as 10,000 new workers to the area over the next three years, raising the question of where these people are going to live.

Ingleside is especially feeling the pinch, having about 900 rental units, according to ALN Apartment Data.

Two apartment complexes — the Oaks By The Bay on Ave. A, and Seaside Landing at SH 361 and Farm-to-Market Rd. 1069 — are under construction, promising to bring 400 new apartments to Ingleside.

Roughly a dozen industrial plants are in various stages of development around the Port of Corpus Christi and are slated to begin operations in less than three years. Most are slated to be built in San Patricio County.

Portland had 5,900 “housing units” in 2013, according to U.S. Census figures. However, it also has an estimated 1,700 rental units.

The average rent in August 2014 for Portland was $1,013, compared with $873 in Corpus Christi, according to ALN data.

Portland annexed 1,826 acres northwest of the city limits to make room for more development, including housing.

Construction is underway on Oak Manor Villa — a $17 million, 140-unit apartment complex — at Moore Ave. and Marriott Dr.

Another complex, the 255-unit Palm Bluff apartments, is planned for Billy G. Webb Dr., near City Hall. Ground has not yet been broken on that $25 million project.