Craig Brown, Mayor, City of Galveston


In an interview with Invest:, Galveston Mayor Craig Brown discussed key developments reshaping the city’s economy, including a city-owned cruise terminal and progress on the Pelican Island Bridge. He highlighted a potential shipbuilding venture and a regional approach to housing. “We’re thinking beyond traditional boundaries,” Brown said.

What major changes over the past year have impacted Galveston’s business community?

First of all, the Port of Galveston has been active. We’ve gone from supporting three cruise terminals to approving a fourth. This one will be dedicated to MSC and Norwegian Cruise Line, and potentially available to others as well. It’s at Pier 16. What makes this terminal different is that the Port of Galveston is building and owning it, unlike the Royal Caribbean terminal, which they funded 100 percent. That means the new terminal can serve multiple cruise lines, and possibly be used for lay dockage too. Lay dockage is a big revenue generator for us — we’re always looking for more space for those operations.

We’ve also made major progress on the Pelican Island Bridge. A year ago, it was still viewed as a distant goal. Now, it has become a short-term goal. The city of Galveston will own the bridge once it’s built, and hopefully will be signing an advanced funding agreement with TxDOT in the near future. That makes us responsible for collecting the local contributions from Texas A&M-Galveston, the Navigation District, Port of Houston, and Port of Galveston.

We’ve almost finalized that side of it. Now, the ball’s in TxDOT’s court. They’re requesting about $250 million in deficit funding through the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). The Transportation Policy Council formed a committee to research and recommend how much funding will be needed. Once that’s secured, we’ll be ready to go.

What’s important to note is that, even though contracts haven’t been signed yet, the project hasn’t slowed down. TxDOT has kept moving, doing environmental analysis, design work, and coordinating with the Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, and the General Land Office. They’re acting like funding is already in place, which is great. We expect construction to begin around 2029 and take approximately 3-4 years to complete.

That bridge will open up a whole new era for Pelican Island. There are 1,300 to 1,400 acres of underutilized land over there, and this project sets the stage for major economic development.

How is the city supporting maritime industry growth?

We’re nearing the final stages of an exciting partnership. A shipbuilding company from Canada is working with the Port of Galveston to lease land and establish a shipbuilding operation here in Texas. It’s a massive project that could bring thousands of jobs.

Once finalized, this will be a big step, not just for Galveston, but for the state and the country. The federal government has made it a priority to reinvest in shipbuilding, especially for things like icebreakers, where we’ve fallen behind globally. We’ve also seen other international companies expressing interest in establishing operations here related to the maritime industry.

The port is also continuing to grow as a cruise hub. We’re close to becoming the third-largest cruise Homeport in the United States. We’re in conversations with other cruise lines that haven’t yet entered the market, and I expect to see some new names coming to Galveston soon.

What initiatives are underway to support economic development?

We’re taking a fresh look at our incentive programs, like our tax reinvestment zones and 380 agreements. We’re making sure they’re tailored to meet the island’s unique needs.

Because of our geography, we have drainage requirements that other cities don’t face. We’re developing programs to help developers meet those challenges. And since available land is limited, especially outside of Pelican Island, we want to make sure we’re offering meaningful support to encourage thoughtful growth.

How are local educational and medical institutions contributing to growth?

Texas A&M-Galveston is expanding, Galveston College is growing, and the University of Texas Medical Branch is preparing to announce some big steps, both in research and clinical services.

Shriners Children’s Hospital has already relocated here, bringing around 160 new healthcare professionals. That’s a huge boost. We’re also looking at promoting Galveston as a destination for medical tourism. We’re a perfect fit for it: patients can receive specialty care, and their families can enjoy the island. We’re working to build out those offerings.

What cultural developments are shaping Galveston’s identity?

Juneteenth has become a major event here, as it should — it started in Galveston. Now that it’s a national holiday, we’ve seen a lot of new attention. Former President Joe Biden joined us for the celebration this year, which was a real honor.

I believe Juneteenth will grow into a national draw for the island. We’re also working with nonprofits to establish a National Juneteenth Museum here.

How are you addressing the housing needs driven by new job creation?

We’re tackling it in two ways. First, we’re supporting efforts to build more affordable housing. One recent win was the sale of the L A Morgan School property by GISD. A local nonprofit, Build Galveston, purchased it and plans to build affordable homes. We’re working closely with them to make sure it moves quickly.

We’ve also reactivated the Galveston Housing Finance Corporation. It had become a bit stagnant, but now, under new leadership with council member Bob Brown, it’s focused on driving affordable housing projects again.

Second, we’re starting to change how we think about housing. For a long time, we’ve believed affordable housing had to be located on the island. But the reality is we don’t have the space to meet demand — even if we succeed with our current projects, it won’t be enough.

We’re shifting our thinking. Affordable housing doesn’t need to be on the island. If we weren’t surrounded by water, we’d treat places like Hitchcock, Santa Fe, League City, and La Marque as our suburbs. We need to partner with them and look at solutions regionally.

Take Hitchcock, for example — it’s easier to commute from there to downtown Galveston than from the West End of the island. We’re looking forward to exploring ways to support housing there and provide transportation solutions. That’s going to be key for supporting our growing workforce.

It’s a regional effort now. We’re thinking beyond traditional boundaries and working collaboratively with partners across the area. From expanding our port and attracting global industry to embracing our cultural heritage and growing housing access, Galveston is positioning itself for a strong future.