As featured in “Houston Business Journal”
Florian Martin, Houston Business Journal, 28 November, 2025
“Parrotheads” will soon have new Margaritaville beach houses to stay at in Galveston.
Dallas-based developer RREAF Holdings LLC said the $700 million Margaritaville Resort on the island’s East Beach is getting ready to break ground within the next 30 days, starting with a 278-unit beach cottage community.
Houston-based Tellepsen will start construction on a 31,000-square-foot amenity deck, which will be 20 feet above sea level and include a 400-foot lazy river, infinity pool, pickleball courts, restaurants, bars and retail.
The plan is to build the cottages in four phases, with delivery of the first 100 homes expected next year, RREAF CEO Kip Sowden told the Houston Business Journal.
The basic structures of the elevated homes are already being manufactured by Aura Home Remodeling & Construction in a Houston facility and will be transported to the development at 317 East Beach Drive, where they will be assembled. Each unit will come fully furnished and Margaritaville-themed, with interior design by The McBride Company.
“All the furniture and the artwork, the flatware, the fully stocked kitchen, even a Margaritaville blender,” Sowden said. “You just literally move in with a bathing suit and toothbrush.”
There will be five different floor plans ranging from 1,000 to 4,200 square feet with two- and three-car garages. Pricing will range roughly from $1 million to $4 million, Sowden said, with a homeowners fee to be determined.
He expects that the vast majority of units will be rented out by the owners — whether on long- or short-term basis.
The idea is for the cottages to be another vacation option for guests, along with the hotel.
“Somebody coming to stay at the Margaritaville Resort will choose from the resort hotel and a high-rise to a much bigger, three- (or) four-bedroom cottage that they’re still renting,” Sowden said. “It’s almost seamless to the consumer.”
Pre-sales have begun, if you are interested in learning more please contact crozierkimzey@mrbeachcottages.com.
Of the 278 homes, there will be 114 on the beach side and the rest across East Beach Drive.
Sowden expects construction on the Margaritaville Resort hotel to start in the second quarter of next year.
At 15 stories and nearly 300,000 square feet of air-conditioned space, the 334-key resort will be one of the largest developments in eastern Galveston, RREAF previously said. It will include a 2.5-acre elevated deck overlooking the beach with a large pool, water slides and a 350-foot lazy river. Additional amenities include a ballroom, pickleball courts and a family entertainment center with arcade. Restaurants will be familiar to Margaritaville regulars and Jimmy Buffett fans (often called “parrotheads”), including the Margaritaville restaurant, LandShark Bar & Grill, 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar, Salty Rim Bar & Grill and Joe Merchant’s Coffee & Provisions.
“We purposely are almost duplicating amenities because … with that amount of traffic and that amount of people, we didn’t want the cottage guests to be dependent on the resort having room for them in their various pools and whatnot,” Sowden said.
While hotel guests won’t be able to access the cottage community amenities, hotel amenities will be free for cottage guests to use.
We appreciate and thank the Houston Business Journal, especially Florian Martin, for announcing RREAF’s Margaritaville™ development in Galveston, TX. To access the full article on the Houston Business Journal, please click here.
