Bolivar/Crystal Beach

In years past, Bolivar Peninsula and Crystal Beach have played second-fiddle to more flamboyant and hence better-known Galveston. However, Bolivar and its main settlement, Crystal Beach, are rapidly emerging as the new hot-spot for development in southeast Texas, with easy proximity to both Houston and Beaumont that is equal to Galveston’s. Although impacted by Hurricane Ike in 2008, the area has rebounded rapidly. Offering 27 miles of less crowded, wider beaches and gentler surf, Bolivar/Crystal Beach competes with the west end of Galveston Island for vacation and primary home buyers, and is becoming a haven for upscale restaurants, great nightlife and a range of shops and other retail business.

A sampling of the new neighborhoods on Bolivar includes:

Audubon Village, developed by Crown Team Texas, is located at the far east side of the Bolivar beach strip beside over 350 acres of nature reserve. Prices range from $99,000 to $199,000.

Avocet, developed by Peter Vincent & Associates along with five additional homebuilders, is a 148-acre master-planned community offering 413 lots ranging in price from $75,000 to $395,000 in four distinct neighborhoods (beachfront, estate, lakefront cottage and villas). Its showcase amenity will be a beach club with a large pavilion, two swimming pools, gourmet kitchen, wine cellar, library, media room and business center.

Laguna Harbor, developed by Crown Team Texas, is an 80-acre development on the northwestern tip of the Bolivar Peninsula on the Intracoastal Waterway, and can accommodate vessels from 20 to 100-feet. Some 15 acres will remain natural wetlands. Planned are luxury waterfront homes and two- to four-bedroom townhomes. Prices range from $95,000 to $1,000,000.

Seagrass, developed by Crown Team of Texas, is a secluded seaside village set among the dunes just south of Marsh Point on Bolivar Peninsula. It features beach houses, seaside cottages, marsh houses and a private hunting and fishing lodge. Pricing to be determined.

Biscayne, one of Bolivar’s first gated communities, is located at the southwestern tip of the Peninsula near a 350-acre land preserve where the beaches and dunes are growing rather than eroding. There is one main street flanked by two rows of homes; houses are either on the beach or on a private lake. Lot sales only, prices to be determined.