Texas City may be the chosen location for one of Texas’ first Latitude Margaritaville communities, age-restricted master-planned communities inspired by singer Jimmy Buffett’s popular song.
Texas City and Minto Communities USA have confirmed that they are in discussions for the active-adult development.
Florida-based Minto develops Latitude under license from Margaritaville Holdings. The companies announced in April 2022 that they planned to open communities in Houston, Dallas and Austin. Existing communities are in Daytona Beach, Florida; Panama City Beach, Florida; and Hardeeville, South Carolina, near Hilton Head.
They feature resort-style pools, fitness centers, live entertainment, signature Margaritaville food and beverage concepts, and arts and learning programs. Residents need to be at least 55 years old.
“Jimmy Buffett and Margaritaville enjoy an enduring connection to the Gulf Coast, and this Latitude location will become another great destination to continue that tradition,” Scott Rogers, Minto’s Texas vice president of acquisition and development, said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the city had no information on the exact location. According to the Galveston County Daily News, which first reported on rumors of the community, one possibility may be the Kohfeldt tract, a large undeveloped area between Emmett F. Lowry Expressway and state highways 3 and 146.
Latitude Margaritaville President William Bullock told the Houston Business Journal last year that Minto was looking for land between 1,000 and 1,500 acres to accommodate the development’s amenities and about 3,000 homes.
He also said the idea to expand to Texas came a couple of years ago after noticing that many Texans travel to Florida each year, but few of them were buying homes in the Latitude Margaritaville communities there.
“We’d walk around the parking lots and see a lot of Texas plates. But they weren’t buying homes,” Bullock said at the time. “That’s something unique about Texas. They don’t want to leave; they want to age in Texas. So we began looking at the possibility of bringing Latitude Margaritaville to them.”
The Houston area — as well as the Austin and Dallas areas — was chosen due to its temperate climate, proximity to an airport, convenient retail and service businesses, and nearby medical offices and hospitals, the company previously said.
While Minto had until now been mum on where in Greater Houston it would develop the community, it was clear the location was going to be far from downtown and not dependent on things other residential developers look for, such as good school districts or employment centers. Most of Latitude Margaritaville’s residents don’t have school-age children, and many are retired.
Texas City may also benefit from its access to Galveston Bay and being just across the bridge from Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico.
“Texas City continues to be a destination for high-quality new developments, and the city is intrigued by the opportunity to be home to Minto Communities’ first Latitude Margaritaville,” Mayor Dedrick Johnson said in a statement.
Elsewhere in Texas City, Houston-based Land Tejas opened its second Crystal Lagoon in its Lago Mar master-planned community in 2020. The 12-acre beach-surrounded pool with turquoise-colored water has an area exclusive to residents as well as a public section for which day passes can be purchased.
Affinity Development Co. also is developing a 756-home community across Interstate 45 from Lago Mar.
Meanwhile, Latitude Margaritaville is just the latest Margaritaville-branded development in the Houston area.
Margaritaville Lake Resort Lake Conroe-Houston opened in June 2020 as the first Margaritaville resort in Texas.
Last November, the former Bolivar Beach Club & RV Resort on Bolivar Peninsula reopened as Texas’ first Camp Margaritaville.
And in Seabrook, a local company is developing a $170 million mixed-used project with two Compass by Margaritaville-branded upscale boutique hotels.
