03-05-07 Special Called Joint Meeting of the La Porte Development Corporation Board of Directors and the La Porte City Council Minutes

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AREA OVERVIEW II - 14 LA PORTE AREA OVERVIEW The primary market area for the proposed Sylvan Beach hotel is defined as the area bounded by the Port of Houston on the north, Port Road and Bay Area Boulevard on the south, Interstate Highway 45 (1-45) on the west and Galveston Bay on the east. The three cities that have the greatest influence on the development of the area are La Porte, Pasadena and Deer Park. This area is economically driven by the Port of Houston, which is home to the $15 billion petrochemical complex - the largest in the nation and the second largest in the world, The Houston Ship Channel houses 40% of the nation's petrochemical manufacturing plants with the capacity to produce 3,853 million barrels of refined petroleum products per day. Literally hundreds of companies that produce and support the production of these produCts and the activities of the port are located in the Battleground Industrial District north of State Highway 225 (SH 225) along the port and in the Bayport Industrial District south of Fairmont Parkway adjacent to the La Porte city limits. The market area is also a destination for important Texas historical sites, including the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship Texas. Other leisure attractions include the Norwegian cruise line, which sails out of the Barbours Cut in La Porte; Galveston Bay; and Sylvan Beach, the preferred site for the proposed hotel. The primary market area is currently undergoing unprecedented economic development at the Port of Houston, which is stimulating both business and leisure activity, as follows: Business Activity A series of events that occurred in the past few years have created an increase in activity at the Port of Houston. The combination of labor problems and congestion at West Coast ports caused shippers and distributors to seek alternative routes. Houston, being located in the center of the US with the sixth largest port in the world, has become a major beneficiary of this change in the shipping industry. Additionally, the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has caused an impact on transportation routes throughout the Gulf of Mexico and increased the amount of building materials needed for reconstruction that is coming through the Port of Houston. Both WalMart and Home Depot have chosen the Port of Houston as a major distribution center for their products from all over the world, especially from Asia. WalMart recently opened a two million-square foot distribution center in Bay town, approximately 10 miles from the proposed hotel site, which will eventually expand to four million square feet.