The road to expansion in Brownsville

The road to expansion
April 07, 2010 8:03 PM
By EMMA PEREZ-TREVINO, The Brownsville Herald

The City Commission moved forward Tuesday, authorizing management to enter into a partnership with a group of developers for the West Morrison Road expansion.

City Manager Charlie Cabler said Wednesday that the proposed agreement continues to be fine-tuned. He said that the group of developers that includes attorney Dennis Sanchez and developer Neal Simmons first have to form a tax-exempt non-profit organization, which hasn’t happened yet.

“They need to get that resolved,” Cabler said. “We are trying to enhance the trust level.”

Cabler was not able to say Wednesday if voters would have had to approve the bonds that the city intends to apply toward the expansion. Cabler said he would review this with the city’s legal department.

Being touted as the first ...

Click here to read more

Here comes Cheddar's; Irving-based eatery to open new location in Brownsville

Here comes Cheddar's; Irving-based eatery to open new location in Brownsville

February 10, 2010 9:46 AM

By STEVE CLARK, The Brownsville Herald

Cheddar’s Casual Café needn’t worry: Brownsville loves its chain restaurants.

Cheddar’s is bringing its all-American comfort food concept to the city, with construction under way on a site at Frontage Road and Charlie Clark Drive, and an opening set for spring.

Jim Weber, executive vice president of operations for the company, seemed to want to downplay the fact that the restaurant is, in fact, a chain — a dirty word in some markets, maybe, but certainly not here.

"We don’t think of ourselves as a chain," Weber told The Brownsville Herald. "We’re a simple company that is very focused on great, quality food. We’re not a big company with 400 or 500 locations. We’re not trying to be the biggest guy out there."

That’s good, since the Irving-based company, which started in 1978 with a single store in Arlington, has just 82 locations in 20 states, according to the company’s Web site. Thirty-five of those locations are in Texas. In contrast, Applebee’s, founded in 1980, has nearly 2,000 restaurants in all 50 states and 15 foreign countries.

"We don’t take too many chances," Weber says. "We’re a conservative Texas company. We’re mindful about our growth. We try to be as thoughtful as we can."

He says the company is "pretty selective" about which markets to enter. McAllen got its first Cheddar’s just over a year ago and that store has been very successful, Weber says, adding that the company is expecting similar success in Brownsville.

"We feel great about the Valley and southern Texas," he says. "We were very confident (about the decision to come to the Valley). We’re generally received very positively."

Each Cheddar’s location employs 154 people. Weber expects a flood of applications once the "now hiring" sign goes up, noting that Cheddar’s doesn’t have to do much in the way of advertising for employees. The company does no advertising at all, in fact.

"We don’t run TV ads," Weber says. "We don’t do any of that. We invest all that in our people and in our quality products."

He describes the restaurant as a "casual dinner house — a little more polished," with an emphasis on "quality food, fair price and great atmosphere."

The new Cheddar’s sits on a 1.8-acre outparcel — part of the land assembled by Coastal Realty, a local commercial real estate firm, for the construction of Lowe’s. Lowe’s is the big anchor for North Towne Plaza, as the development is called.

Coastal’s Mark Barnard says marketing of the outparcels to "junior anchors" started before the Lowe’s was finished, and Cheddar’s was the first one to bite.

"The outparcel users and junior anchors always follow the large anchors such as Lowe’s," he says. "Now that Cheddar’s is under construction, other restaurants will look more seriously at the North Towne project."

Surrounding Cheddar’s is a 3-acre parcel that would work for...

Full Story

Proposal would tie two bridges at mid-point linking Brownsville and Matamoros, Mexico

Proposal would tie two bridges at mid-point
November 15, 2009 10:02 PM
By EMMA PEREZ-TREVINO, The Brownsville Herald

An innovative project that would tie two international bridges at center point to both link Brownsville and Matamoros, Mexico, is planned by the state, county and city.

The Texas Department of Transportation, Cameron County and Brownsville propose to tie Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates with a parallel bridge.

Both bridges would be tied, but only at mid-point via a five-lane span.

"I think this (project) is the only one of its kind," County bridge Administrator Pete Sepulveda said.

"It (the tie-in) provides us options," in the movement of traffic, Sepulveda said.

And in connection with the project, the Federal Highway Administration has given notice to the public of an opportunity to provide input regarding the socio-economic and environmental effects of the proposed bridge

In the course of an environmental assessment of the project, FHWA issued the public notice via the Federal Register on Thursday, stating that a public hearing will be scheduled if persons request one on or before 5 p.m. Dec. 15.

A written request can be mailed to the Texas Department of Transportation District Engineer’s Office, P. O. Box 1717, Pharr, Texas, 78577.

The project calls for construction of a four-lane bridge for commercial trucks 32 feet downstream from the Veterans bridge.

The Veterans bridge and the proposed bridge would be connected at midpoint, "to provide flexibility in operation, maintenance, and security," the federal notice states.

In order to accomplish this, five bridge spans near the Rio Grande would join the bridges.

"This transitional connection would allow for one bridge to be operational while maintenance is undertaken on the opposite bridge," the notice states.

Furthermore, "this bridge connection section would allow traffic diversion from one bridge to another in case of an accident or emergency," the FHWA’s notice also points out.

The notice also states that it is not anticipated that the project would displace anyone. The proposal also would not require the purchase of additional rights-of-way and it would be constructed within an existing 300-feet wide right-of-way.

Sepulveda said the project is being developed jointly with Mexico officials.

The federal notice also points out that location maps, design plans, schematic, environmental assessment and other information regarding the proposed project are available for viewing at the TxDOT District office, 600 W. U.S. Expressway 83 in Pharr. The telephone number to schedule a viewing is (956) 702-6100.

County holds off on Ocean Tower for the time being

County holds off on Ocean Tower for the time being
November 13, 2009 8:04 PM
By LAURA B. MARTINEZ, The Brownsville Herald

The Cameron County Commissioners’ Court has held off on providing a contractor with a temporary storage site for demolished construction material from South Padre Island’s Ocean Tower, which is scheduled for demolition.

Action on the site was tabled Thursday because the Commissioners’ Court needed additional information about the implosion of the structure, including whether there would be hazardous material involved and who would be in charge of removing the debris, County Judge Carlos H. Cascos said.

Costa Rica Food & Spirits Restaurant requested that it be allowed to store the remnants of Ocean Tower for about 45 days, while the steel and concrete is separated, said Cameron County Parks Director Javier Mendez.

Costa Rica Food & Spirits Restaurant is leasing its land from Cameron County.

Oceans Towers is a 31-story condominium scheduled to be demolished in early December.

Construction on the 151-unit luxury project was halted last summer year after it was determined it was sinking, which caused cracks in beams and columns.

Antun T. Domit, listed as the resident agent for Ocean Tower LP, sent out letters in November 2008 to people who had either expressed interest or had purchased one of the condo units, informing them that the high-rise project was cancelled.

The developers of Ocean Tower have filed a lawsuit against the two engineering firms contracted for the project.

Meanwhile, while discussing the Ocean Tower situation at Thursday’s meeting, commissioners learned that Ocean Tower LP owes the county about $40,000 in back taxes from 2008. Ocean Tower owes other taxing entities in the county an additional $40,000, officials said.

Tax attorney John Guevara, of Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson LLP, on Friday said the law firm has filed a lawsuit against Ocean Tower on behalf of Cameron County for the 2008 back taxes.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this week.

Although past due tax notices were sent out beginning in July to Ocean Tower, the law firm has received no response, Guevara said.

Domit could not be reached for comment on Friday.

News of the owed taxes didn’t sit well with Precinct 3 County Commissioner David A. Garza, who said the county should consider filing an injunction against Ocean Tower.

An injunction would temporarily prohibit Ocean Tower from being demolished.

"I think we need to protect ourselves," Garza said. "It’s costing a lot for them (Ocean Tower) to do that. Maybe they’d be more apt to pay what they owe," if an injunction was filed.

However, Cascos said he didn’t believe asking for the delay would help the county collect the taxes.

Precinct 1 County Commissioner Sofia C.Benavides said since Ocean Tower has been selling some of the furnishings from the high-rise, the business should also make an attempt to pay the county money owed.

Advertisements have been placed in The Brownsville Herald stating that some of the furnishings, such as lighting, plumbing, interior fixtures, granite flooring and countertops, were for sale and priced below wholesale.

"If they’ve been selling all this stuff, they should be paying us," Benavides said.

Veterans Bridge expansion aims to alleviate lengthy crossings for commercial traffic

Veterans Bridge expansion aims to alleviate lengthy crossings for commercial traffic

November 02, 2009 11:33 AM
By STEVE CLARK, The Brownsville Herald

Even with fewer border crossings taking place in Brownsville these days, traffic still jams up at Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates.

To address the problem, Cameron County is planning to add a new four-lane span for commercial trucks entering the United States. The county, which estimates the cost of the project at $11 million, is in the process of securing a necessary amendment to the bridge’s original Presidential Permit — required for any structure connecting the United States with a foreign neighbor.

Cameron County administrator Peter Sepulveda says construction should begin in April 2010 and take 12 months to complete. The federal Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program will pay 80 percent of the project via the Texas Department of Transportation.

Cameron County and the city of Brownsville will put up the remaining 20 percent. Sepulveda says the problem with Veterans Bridge is that commercial trucks have a hard time just getting to primary inspection lanes — even if the lanes are empty — because of passenger car traffic.

A U.S. Department of the Interior memo on the project notes the bridge is "at capacity," which translates into long wait times for commercial vehicles — 30 minutes during week days and up to two hours on weekends and holidays. The memo, generated by the U.S. Department of the Interior, forecasts traffic volumes at the bridge to double by 2028, even though volume for both commercial and non-commercial traffic has fallen recently.

Sepulveda says new passport requirements that took effect June 1 have taken their toll on non-commercial traffic, while the recession’s impact on maquiladoras that serve the U.S. auto industry has severely impacted commercial traffic. In 2009 the county will collect about $3.5 million in commercial traffic tolls at Veterans Bridge, down 15 percent from previous years. Sepulveda believes traffic volume will rebound with the economy, however.

"Our commercial and other traffic has been going down because of different issues we’re faced with, but eventually that’s going to come back up," he says. "We need to be prepared when traffic does improve.

Eventually the economy will get better. People will get used to having to get their passport cards. Things will get better. It’s just hard to tell whether it’s going to be in 12 months or 36 months."

The original environmental assessment for Veterans Bridge was put together in 1981. The bridge complex was built in 1999 at a cost of $25 million. Today the facility is crammed with "idling lines of cars and diesel trucks sitting for hours at a time," according to the Interior Department memo. This congestion, which the report notes "contributes to poor air quality at the U.S./Mexico border," would be alleviated by the new span and additional lanes, says the government.

Until the recent drop in volume, truck traffic volume had climbed rapidly at the border, spurred by NAFTA, which went into effect Jan. 1, 1994. The value of U.S. trade to and from Mexico by truck through Texas ports rose from $57.3 billion in 1995 to more than $106 billion in 1999, according to the government. From 1990 to 1999, truck crossings at Texas ports increased from 726,000 to 2.3 million.

Sepulveda says the bridge project has been in planning for about two years and has nothing to do with the city of Laredo’s plan to add seven commercial lanes to its trade bridge.

"They have a different market than we do," he says. "Our competition is the (Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge). That’s our nearest competition."

The Pharr bridge is congested, too, Sepulveda notes, thus improving the flow of trucks through Veterans Bridge could lure some commercial traffic away from Hidalgo County.

"That’s the idea," he says. "That’s a possibility."