McAllen Mayor Richard F. Cortez welcomed distinguished guests and visitors, including federal judges, State Representatives, the newly elected Hidalgo County Judge, the newly elected Mayor of Reynosa, and other dignitaries to the 2011 State of the City address, Thursday, January 20, 2011, at the McAllen Convention Center.
The event, themed “Celebrating Our Past, Building Our Future”, celebrated McAllen’s 100th Anniversary as a city.
“What a rich history we have to celebrate,” said Mayor Cortez, in his opening remarks. “From a small dusty spot near the Rio Grande to a vibrant, modern American city on the border, McAllen has shown time and time again that it is truly a city without limits.”
Mayor Cortez paralleled the use of a horse trough and hitching post, used by early settlers to attract business to downtown, to building assets in modern times.
“While we may no longer be in the business of building hitching posts, we are certainly still in the business of building and protecting assets that will attract the next generation of citizens to our City,” he said.
But the Mayor said future growth must be “quality growth” for McAllen. He said City leaders must attract “one of a kind” retailers to secure the City’s position as the top retail destination in South Texas. One such way to do that is by planning the future of the Boeye Reservoir site, available for use in the latter part of 2011. The reservoir, currently located at the eastbound Expressway 83 frontage road and Bicentennial Boulevard, is being moved south of the McAllen Airport.
Fry’s Electronics, Cabela’s and Costco are among some of the “one of a kind” retailers the Mayor ...
Click here to view photos of the event
Click here to read Mayor's speech
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