WHAT:     Ribbon Cutting for New Downtown Rockport Center for the Arts Parking Lot
WHEN:    Wednesday, Aug. 31 — 9 a.m.
WHERE:  101 N. Magnolia St., Rockport, Texas

As the final touches continue on the new 22,000-square-foot Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA), the new 60-space parking lot located one block away is now completed with an official ribbon cutting scheduled to officially open the lot. 

Guest speakers for the 9 a.m. ceremony include:

•       Judge C.H. “Burt” Mills, Jr., Aransas County Judge;

•       Mayor Tim Jayroe, City of Rockport;

•       John Besteiro, Grant Coordinator, Texas General Land Office;

•       Karen Ernst, Deputy Director, Rockport Center of the Arts; and

•       Other State and Federal Officials

Made possible through a Community Development Block Grant, administered by the Texas General Land Office, the project is part of a $53.9 million block grant Aransas County obtained after Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

The new parking lot includes overhead lighting, landscaping, an irrigation system, and new sidewalks, supporting the new RCA campus scheduled to be completed mid-September on S. Austin St., as well as other downtown merchants and special events.

Construction started in late February. The project engineer was Hanson Engineering and the contractor was Marshall Construction, both located in Corpus Christi, Texas.

“We are thankful to the leadership of Aransas County for having the foresight to include parking that will support 22,000 square feet of new RCA facilities for convention tourism, multidisciplinary Arts programming, and the many activities that take place in downtown Rockport,” said Luis Purón, RCA executive director.

To coordinate coverage, contact Karen Ernst, RCA Deputy Director

at (361) 450-8022, (361) 729-5519, or karen@rockportartcenter.com