b'C o m m u n i t yHerons Nest Cafe & Community Park on Kingfisher Canal at Whitecap NPIWhitecap NPI Homesites Now Available to the Public With a new canal and bridge system nearing completion, the most amenity-rich, waterfront resort community on the Texas Gulf Coast will soon debut model homeswith lots already selling fast.North Padre Island, Texas, is in many ways, a polar opposite community compared toThe first stage of construction is taking place on Whitecap Island, the northernmost the similarly-named vacation town located at the southern end of the longest barriersection of the community where the Pelicans Landing Pool and Fitness Center island in the world. Part of the city of Corpus Christi, North Padre Islanders enjoy all theis taking shape and where the first five Whitecap NPI model homes are under con-benefits of living in a major city (the 8th-largest in Texas), with major retail, medical,structionthree single-family canal-front, and two interior duplexes. The first major and entertainment just 15 minutes OTB (over the bridge)plus the added benefit ofpiece of many Whitecap NPI amenities, Pelicans Landing will feature a large, resort being located within the Flour Bluff Independent School District, the highest-ratedswimming pool and sundeck, a kids water play area, family cabanas, private changing academically of any large Coastal Bend public school system. As opposed to other is- rooms, and a first-class fitness facility.land vacation towns, North Padre Island offers a more relaxed pace in a less congestedJust a short bicycle or golf cart ride south of Whitecap Island, next to the east side of setting, where the beauty of nature can be more fully appreciated. the nature preserve, Herons Nest Cafe & Community Park will be positioned within Whitecap NPI is the new, emerging centerpiece of life and activity on North Padrea protected inlet on Kingfisher Canalthe central feature being a soft, sandy beach Island, developed on the 240-acre site that was occupied for decades by a golf coursearea on the canal! Lucky guests will enjoy artisan food and beverage creations in an and country club, followed by six years as a waterpark. The resort community startedelegant, natural setting where so many of the islands treasures convene and may be with the construction of over five miles of new, navigable canals that connect water- appreciated most. Southeast of Herons Landing is the 30-acre Whitecap Preserve, front homes to the Gulf, to the east, and to the Laguna Madre to the west, followedperhaps the most significant environmental contribution created in a coastal, mas-by the construction of seven bridges to and within Whitecap NPI that provide 12-feetter-planned community. Developed under the consultation of a retired Texas Parks of clearance for boats traveling on the canals. The new water connection through theand Wildlife biologist, the preserve provides a new, protected habitat for native and canal system has brought clearer, gulf waters into the Padre Isles canal system on themigrating birds, millions of which stop over on North Padre Island following treks of back side of the island, improving water quality, fishing and, especially, the odor! over a thousand miles from winter havens in Mexico and Central America.50THECOASTALBENDMAGAZINE TheCoastalBend.com'