HOUSTON A privately-owned beach next to Galveston s seawall may be sold as part of a bankruptcy case.
Porretto Beach has been a Galveston institution for more than a half-century, hosting events for generations of beachgoers. Now it bears something unique for a beach along the seawall: a for sale sign.
The family-owned business has been tangled in a complicated and expensive legal battle with the state of Texas. After Hurricane Ike, the beach owners went to bankruptcy court, where a judge is now considering changing the Chapter 11 petition to a Chapter 7, a legal move that would force the prime property s sale.
It s devastating, said Sonya Porretto, whose late father bought the land back in the 1950s. I mean, to know that your parents have worked their lives to acquire something.
Poretto remembers working at the property when she was a child, helping out with the family business
We were all born and raised down there, she said. We would work at the gift shop and across the street. And then, once we got a little older we would go to the beach.
The family has tried to sell the property for years, but Porretto said the deals have always fallen apart because of legal complications stemming from the dispute with the state government. Henry Porretto, Sonya s father, went to court because the state s General Land Office claimed it owned submerged property in front of the beach.
Now I would hate to see it all just go by the wayside, knowing that he put so much time, energy, heart and work into it, Poretto said.
