Bay Harbor & Bahia Azul

Bay Harbor began as a commercial enterprise whose settlers envisioned a port to rival Galveston in the early 1800s. Hurricanes, swift San Luis Pass currents and the costs of streets and waterworks thwarted progress, and by the 1940s the organizational structure changed to a non-profit civic improvement organization that exists to this day.

Bahia Azul (translates to “Blue Bay") is a small area carved out of Bay Harbor’s northern shoreline on Galveston Bay.

Today, Bay Harbor includes about 100 single-family homes built between 1945 and 2009. The average size is 1,644 square feet, ranging from as small as 576 to 2,600 square feet, generally built on half-acre lots. Some Bay Harbor homes are on the Gulf side of FM 3005, but most are between FM 3005 and Galveston Bay.

The two dozen or so waterfront houses in Bahia Azul are larger and newer by contrast, 1,276 to 3,836 square feet, built between 1973 and 2004. Most are on boat canals with access to Galveston Bay and the Intracoastal Waterway.

Bay Harbor/Bahia Azul are just under 5 miles from the far west end of Galveston Island, and about 19 miles from 61st Street in Galveston. A small grocery store is about a mile away, and a Galveston fire station is only 2 miles to the east. The neighborhoods have access to a fishing pier and boat ramp. Vacation rentals are permitted.

Bay and beach houses for sale in Galveston’s Bay Harbor are priced between the $200,000s and the $600,000s, and the bay houses for sale in Galveston’s Bahia Azul are slightly more expensive, between the $200,000s and $800,000s.  There is also a small gated community, The Reserve at Bay Harbor, located at the back of Bay Harbor.  There are a small number of homes, all bayfront and all priced over $1M. 

RESOURCE

Bay Harbor Improvement Association