New ecosystem center to come to Laguna Vista

LAGUNA VISTA — A new ecotourism site is on the horizon for the small town of Laguna Vista.

Cameron County is currently working on preliminary plans for a South Texas Ecosystem Center to be located in Laguna Vista.

Cameron County entered a partnership with Laguna Vista to lease a section of land owned by the town on Highway 100, to build the learning center.

The center is one of the two projects voters approved of in November of 2016.

The other project was an outdoor theater in Isla Blanca Park.

Cameron County is still in the early stages of development and has hired Harlingen-based architectural firm, Megamorphosis to create a master plan for the 23-acre plot of land.

Only 10 of those acres will be used for the building itself.

Program administrator, Mark Yates said the facility will serve as an education center where people could stop in and get a dose of the wildlife area.

“We’re pretty excited about it.”

The facility will boast a variety of features including exhibit halls, a natural wetland, an outdoor theater and trails.

“We’re calling it a visitor’s center primarily,” Yates said.

Estimated costs for the facility will be somewhere between $5 million and $6 million.

“We expect the facility to always be evolving,” Yates said.

Yates said Laguna Vista was chosen because it is known as the gateway to the coastal area.

Yates sees the facility as an opportunity to expand ecotourism in the area and bring awareness to the small towns surrounding the island that are often overlooked.

Currently, the county is waiting for Megamorphosis to create a master plan before a timeline is set for when the center will begin construction.

Yates said the team involved is looking into creating partnerships with the zoo and local universities to provide programming for the center.