MUSTANG RANCH, TX—The 18-mile long island near Corpus Christi (accessed by 24/7 car ferry service) is considered the sport fishing capital of Texas, but is also known for its national and state seashore parks, beachfront vacation homes, budget-friendly resorts, casual fine dining, nightlife, championship golf, kayaking, nature preserves, and a variety of food, entertainment, shopping and year-round festivals. These sandy Gulf Coast beaches of Port Aransas are about to be transformed from a vacation community for Texans to one with greater national and global appeal.

Starting this summer, Port Aransas and Mustang Island will be in the early stages of a major expansion, with plans to double the number of accommodations during the next several years to compete with second home vacation destinations throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Coastal Carolinas. A big part of that plan is a $1.3 billion 300-acre phase two expansion of Cinnamon Shore, an upscale vacation community developed by Port Aransas-based Sea Oats Group that will quadruple its size during the next decade.

Slated to begin in mid- to late 2018, the project will include 1,750 new vacation homes with two- to five-bedrooms, a boutique hotel, a town center with retail, dining and entertainment options, a health and wellness center, a new 3,300-foot beachfront almost three times the size of the beach at Cinnamon Shore North's property, a 10-acre lake ringed by a mile-long boardwalk; perhaps becoming the largest lake of its kind along the Gulf coast.

The development will lie on both sides of state Highway 361, framed by several swimming pools and lakes that residents will be able to cross using a golf-cart bridge. This will reduce the number of cars to create a more environmentally attractive vacation community.

“It's a simple play when you think about it. From coast to coast there are gorgeous beaches but beaches are protected in most of Texas. Mustang Island is as pretty as any US beach, such as Hilton Head, Laguna Beach, you name it,” Sea Oats Group CEO Jeff Lamkin tells GlobeSt.com. “The North development is 90% sold, the South development is under construction and Bay will commence in two to three years. The developments will feature front porches, close neighbors, walkability and beautiful architecture.”

The hospitality plans include the Palmilla Beach Resort and Golf Community, representing the destination's only 18-hole golf course with several condos, cottages, town homes, a seaside pool and a restaurant. Starting this summer, the property's developer, McCombs Propertes, will sell new high-end home sites that wind around the community's beach and golf course, carved out of untouched native dunes facing the Gulf of Mexico.