safety

Saturday, July 29, 2017 | The Daily News | Section C

RUTHI STAYTON

Grand Cay Harbour a place anyone would love to call home

The Grand Cay Harbour development lies within the 23 foot high Texas City Hurricane Flood Protection Levee and Tide Gate System. Grand Cay Harbour water entrance is located just inside the steel tide gate, which is lowered before a hurricane, protecting the area from storm surge. No hurricane flood damage has occurred inside the levee since it was constructed in 1963. Most recently, during Hurricane Ike, there was no damage to the property, and no water got above the bulkhead. Flood insurance is not required for Grand Cay Harbour. This the ultimate safe harbor; it is truly our own “Ike Dike.”

The community is situated on an unspoiled stretch of Galveston Bay’s shoreline. With a tranquil pace and breathtaking views, it feels [like] you’re miles away from everything. Here you can set sail on your boat from your own backyard, spend the day fishing on some of the best areas on the gulf, or sit back and watch nature happen around you. The community also features direct access to Galveston Bay, with one of the quickest accesses to the gulf, on-site mooring and storage for large offshore boats, sailboats and more. The community offers homebuyers comfort and security knowing their home is built slab-on-grade as opposed to stilts along with the highest architectural guidelines meeting all current windstorm requirements. Home designs are specific for this development, which with the pastel paint colors and metal roofs definitely give that beachy Caribbean flair and keeps the neighborhood unique to the area.

Grand Cay Harbour is in phase one of development, which totals around 200 building sites, with only around 60 lots remaining. Approximately 90 percent of the build sites have canal easements, which allows for boat house construction and access from your backyard. Unique to this community is that a MUD is responsible for making repairs to the bulkhead, which includes any dredging needs of the community. This certainly helps spread the costs of the maintenance of the canal systems. The canals are open at both ends, allowing a constant flow of water to remove any stagnation problems along with improved fishing.

Grand Cay Harbour is a very tight-knit community with annual events, including crayfish boil in the spring, hot dogs at the community pool and the monthly gathering at Sunset Park. The park has great views of the sunsets and allows neighbors to get together to tell their “fish tales” and just catch up on current events. Being primarily full-time residences with just a few weekenders, we can maintain that one-on-one relationship that keeps us close. It is very common to see neighbors walking their pets in the evening and stopping to meet with each other to chat about the day’s events.

Grand Cay Harbour must be the most affordable waterfront community in the area and, along with the location, affords a lot of diversity in water sport activities. There is Moses Lake in the backyard that lends itself to power boating, jet skiing, kayaking and wade fishing all in protected waters. Exit through the flood gate and you are in Galveston Bay with options to the gulf. Attached to the development is also a 750 acres coastal bird sanctuary that further enhances the natural setting. Without hesitation – with the water sports, neighbors and secluded location – it is a place that anyone would love to call home.

Thank you Richard Banks, passionate advocate for and resident of Grand Cay Harbour, for providing us with this up close look at life in an area of Galveston County that we may have all been aware was there but had no real knowledge of the characteristics that make it another unique community within our community.