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Grain elevators that have been towering above Harborside Drive near Pier 25 for about 40 years are taking up space that might be used for more profitable endeavors, one influential port leader argues.
Jim Yarbrough, a member of Wharves Board of Trustees, which governs the public docks, has been arguing since at least 2016, when he was mayor, that the grain business has gotten soft and tenuous and waterfront leaders should consider whether there’s a higher and better use of that port land.
The port has been shipping grain from elevators for almost 150 years. The first grain elevator went up in 1875, then blew up in 1977 when a spark ignited grain dust, killing about 15 people.
“At one time, the grain elevators produced a lot of jobs and money,” Yarbrough said. “Over time that has dwindled down to not much. It doesn’t produce that many jobs.”
Among the first questions Yarbrough asked when he joined the board was when the lease agreement for the property expired, he said.
“It takes the port a while to move and do things,” Yarbrough said. “My hopes were to implode or get rid of the grain elevators.”
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- Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees.
