Best Places You May Never Have Heard Of
Rio South Texas Region Landing on 'Best Places' Lists in a Number of Areas
SOURCE Rio South Texas Economic Council
PR Newswire
EDINBURG, Texas, April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- A largely unknown and often overlooked area of the United States is not only starting to get noticed, but is also earning national rankings as the place to live, get a job, go to college and start a business. One of the fastest growing areas in the U.S. with a total population of 2.3 million, Rio South Texas encompasses the southernmost tip of Texas and the northeastern part of Mexico. The region is currently the third largest market in Texas, the 23rd largest market in the country and the largest U.S./Mexico border region in America.
Over the past six months, the region has been ranked nationally in the following areas:
•America's Best-Bang-For-The-Buck Cities. McAllen -Edinburg- Mission ranked 7th for its solid housing market, stable employment, enviable cost of living and quick commute. (Forbes.com, November, 2009)
•America's Fastest-Recovering Cities. McAllen-Mission-Edinburg ranked 48th in this list of 100 most economically secure U.S. metros based on diversified industry and stable housing market. (Forbes.com, November, 2009)
•Safest Hospitals in America. Hospitals in Brownsville (Valley Regional Medical Center), Edinburg (Doctors Hospital at Renaissance and Edinburg Regional Medical Center), Harlingen (Harlingen Medical Center), and McAllen (Rio Grande Regional Hospital and McAllen Medical Center/Heart Hospital) ranked among the best 5% in the nation based on low complication and mortality rates. (HealthGrades, Inc. January, 2010)
•Deep Seaport handles record waterborne in-transits. The Port of Brownsville placed 3rd among the Top 20 U.S. Ports handling Foreign Waterborne In-Transits ahead of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. (U.S. Corps of Engineers – Transportation Facts, December, 2008)
•Most Secure U.S. Places to Live for 2009. McAllen metropolitan area ranked 7th in large metro areas (500,000+) in the sixth annual ranking of safest cities. (Farmers Insurance Group, December, 2009)
•America's 10 Next Recovering Job Markets. McAllen ranked 3rd and Brownsville ranked 4th based on Economy.com's projected job growth in the first three months of 2010.
•A+ Rating. Fitch Ratings gave the City of Harlingen an "A+" rating based on the city's stable financial history, healthy fund balances, increasingly diversified economic base, below average unemployment and moderate debt ratio. (Fitch Ratings, October, 2009)
•50 Best Places to Launch a Business. McAllen ranked 16th among the best midsize places in the U.S. to launch a small business. That same study showed that small business start-ups in McAllen-Mission-Edinburg grew by 13% from 2004-2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And McAllen and Brownsville ranked 1st and 2nd among metros with the lowest wages. (CNNMoney.com, October, 2009)
•America's Best Public Colleges. University of Texas Pan American ranked No. 32 in the top 100 list for "America's Best Public Colleges" and was ranked 218 in the complete list of 600 "America's Best Colleges". (Forbes.com, September, 2009)
"These rankings and ratings indicate that Rio South Texas is fast becoming recognized as a healthy market for more than job creation," said Miki McCarthy, Director of San Juan Economic Development Corporation. "This area is proving itself to be among the best and safest places in the country to live, work, learn and do business. We have a lot to boast about, and that's just what we're doing!"
Rio South Texas Economic Council, a public and private association of economic development interests, was formed in 2008 to promote the collective assets of the Rio South Texas region to attract private sector investment, economic diversification and business expansions. RSTEC – with its tagline "Two Countries. One Region. Many Choices." – is aggressively pursuing six core industry segments: automotive manufacturers and suppliers; aerospace; metal products; medical devices; electronics manufacturing and assembly and renewable energy.
Media Contact:
Sofia Hernandez
Toll Free Line: 1-888-RSTEC01 (888-778-3201)
Direct Line: 956-607-1197
news@riosouthtexas.com
SOURCE Rio South Texas Economic Council
Showing posts with label Rio South Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rio South Texas. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Little Known Area One of Nation's Largest Regions
Little Known Area One of Nation's Largest Regions
Region is 3rd Largest Market in Texas and 23rd Largest Market in United States
EDINBURG, Texas, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- What region of the United States straddles two countries, has a total population of 2.3 million, is the 8th fastest growing area in the U.S. and is located within 150 miles of 10 million people? What is being described here is Rio South Texas, the largest U.S./Mexico border region that is also among the country's largest metropolitan areas.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Rio South Texas is the 23rd largest market in the country. The region encompasses the four southernmost counties in Texas – Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy – along with the cities of Reynosa, Matamoros and Rio Bravo in Tamaulipas, Mexico. The market is not quite as large as Pittsburgh, but bigger than Portland/Vancouver.
Rio South Texas is also the third largest market in Texas, behind Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington and Houston/Sugar Land/Baytown, respectively 4th and 6th largest MSAs in the United States.
The Cities of Rio South Texas
The major U.S. cities of Rio South Texas include: Brownsville, the region's largest city located at the very southernmost tip of Texas; Harlingen, which is roughly 25 miles north of Brownsville; and McAllen, located some 35 miles to the west of Harlingen. The region also includes the Gulf of Mexico beach resort city of South Padre Island and a number of other communities such as San Benito, Port Isabel, Weslaco, San Juan, Pharr, Edinburg, Mission, Roma and Rio Grande City.
Reynosa, just across the border from McAllen with a population of 750,000, is the largest Mexican city in the region. Rio Bravo lies in the center of the regional border and has a population of about 84,000 and Matamoros, just south of Brownsville is home to 423,000. All of these cities are in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
"What's interesting is that few people know about this area, which happens to be not only one of the largest population centers in the country, but also a fast-growing business hub," said Keith Patridge, President of the McAllen Economic Development Council. "The Rio South Texas Economic Council (RSTEC) is charged with first – getting this huge area on the map in terms of awareness, and second to tell our story about why this is a viable region for locating anything from a small business to a global manufacturing facility."
To promote the collective assets of the region, RSTEC was formed in 2008. Representing all economic development interests in the region, the 21 RSTEC members are collaborating to attract private sector investment, economic diversification and business expansions in six core industry segments.
Click here to view online article
Media Contact:
Sofia Hernandez
Toll Free Line: 1-888-RSTEC01 (888-778-3201)
Direct Line: 956-607-1197
news@riosouthtexas.com
SOURCE Rio South Texas Economic Council
http://www.riosouthtexas.com/
Region is 3rd Largest Market in Texas and 23rd Largest Market in United States
EDINBURG, Texas, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- What region of the United States straddles two countries, has a total population of 2.3 million, is the 8th fastest growing area in the U.S. and is located within 150 miles of 10 million people? What is being described here is Rio South Texas, the largest U.S./Mexico border region that is also among the country's largest metropolitan areas.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Rio South Texas is the 23rd largest market in the country. The region encompasses the four southernmost counties in Texas – Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy – along with the cities of Reynosa, Matamoros and Rio Bravo in Tamaulipas, Mexico. The market is not quite as large as Pittsburgh, but bigger than Portland/Vancouver.
Rio South Texas is also the third largest market in Texas, behind Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington and Houston/Sugar Land/Baytown, respectively 4th and 6th largest MSAs in the United States.
The Cities of Rio South Texas
The major U.S. cities of Rio South Texas include: Brownsville, the region's largest city located at the very southernmost tip of Texas; Harlingen, which is roughly 25 miles north of Brownsville; and McAllen, located some 35 miles to the west of Harlingen. The region also includes the Gulf of Mexico beach resort city of South Padre Island and a number of other communities such as San Benito, Port Isabel, Weslaco, San Juan, Pharr, Edinburg, Mission, Roma and Rio Grande City.
Reynosa, just across the border from McAllen with a population of 750,000, is the largest Mexican city in the region. Rio Bravo lies in the center of the regional border and has a population of about 84,000 and Matamoros, just south of Brownsville is home to 423,000. All of these cities are in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
"What's interesting is that few people know about this area, which happens to be not only one of the largest population centers in the country, but also a fast-growing business hub," said Keith Patridge, President of the McAllen Economic Development Council. "The Rio South Texas Economic Council (RSTEC) is charged with first – getting this huge area on the map in terms of awareness, and second to tell our story about why this is a viable region for locating anything from a small business to a global manufacturing facility."
To promote the collective assets of the region, RSTEC was formed in 2008. Representing all economic development interests in the region, the 21 RSTEC members are collaborating to attract private sector investment, economic diversification and business expansions in six core industry segments.
Click here to view online article
Media Contact:
Sofia Hernandez
Toll Free Line: 1-888-RSTEC01 (888-778-3201)
Direct Line: 956-607-1197
news@riosouthtexas.com
SOURCE Rio South Texas Economic Council
http://www.riosouthtexas.com/
Monday, October 12, 2009
Advanced Manufacturing Talent Pipeline Runs Through Rio South Texas Region
Advanced Manufacturing Talent Pipeline Runs Through Rio South Texas Region
October 12, 2009
BusinessWire
MCALLEN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The first step in creating a world class advanced manufacturing region starts with creating a talent pipeline. That pipeline is flowing through the Rio South Texas region thanks to the North American Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education Initiative.
“We’re developing human capital to form the talent pipeline,” explains Wanda Garza of South Texas College, who serves as executive officer for NAAMREI, a network that stretches across seven Mexican border counties.
The region’s community colleges, universities, public schools and other education entities are developing a talent network focused on advanced manufacturing. More than 60 private and public sector groups form the NAAMREI alliance, which includes economic development corporations, manufacturers, workforce agencies, and city and county governments.
“We see ourselves as a world leader in rapid response manufacturing,” Garza said, adding that the goal is to dramatically increase the manufacturing base that already exists in the region.
By “rapid response,” Garza means speeding up the time it takes to turn ideas into finished products. The focus is to help companies develop next-generation products for aerospace, automotive, industrial, medical, consumer electronics and other key markets.
Keith Patridge, CEO of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, says NAAMREI is helping area manufacturing companies compete in the global arena.
More manufacturing opportunities mean more jobs for the region, says Patridge, which leads back to the need for a skilled workforce.
South Texas College’s Technology Campus, located in the McAllen Foreign Trade Zone, houses the NAAMREI headquarters. For the past nine years, STC has worked with area manufactures to provide workforce training in precision manufacturing, welding and other needed trades.
The Rapid Response Manufacturing Center at The University of Texas-Pan American is another education component. The center provides services and expertise in research, development and demonstration; education; and innovation and technology based entrepreneurship and business incubation.
NAAMREI’s talent pipeline doesn’t stop at the Mexican border. Talent also comes from neighboring border cities and other parts of Mexico.
Future plans include a research park for the region. The network approach has helped regional partners leverage $22 million in start up funds, including a $5 million U.S. Department of Labor WIRED grant and a $3 million Texas Workforce Commission Skills Development grant.
For more information, contact Wanda Garza, wandag@southtexascollege.edu, 956-872-2770; or visit www.naamrei.org.
October 12, 2009
BusinessWire
MCALLEN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The first step in creating a world class advanced manufacturing region starts with creating a talent pipeline. That pipeline is flowing through the Rio South Texas region thanks to the North American Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education Initiative.
“We’re developing human capital to form the talent pipeline,” explains Wanda Garza of South Texas College, who serves as executive officer for NAAMREI, a network that stretches across seven Mexican border counties.
The region’s community colleges, universities, public schools and other education entities are developing a talent network focused on advanced manufacturing. More than 60 private and public sector groups form the NAAMREI alliance, which includes economic development corporations, manufacturers, workforce agencies, and city and county governments.
“We see ourselves as a world leader in rapid response manufacturing,” Garza said, adding that the goal is to dramatically increase the manufacturing base that already exists in the region.
By “rapid response,” Garza means speeding up the time it takes to turn ideas into finished products. The focus is to help companies develop next-generation products for aerospace, automotive, industrial, medical, consumer electronics and other key markets.
Keith Patridge, CEO of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, says NAAMREI is helping area manufacturing companies compete in the global arena.
More manufacturing opportunities mean more jobs for the region, says Patridge, which leads back to the need for a skilled workforce.
South Texas College’s Technology Campus, located in the McAllen Foreign Trade Zone, houses the NAAMREI headquarters. For the past nine years, STC has worked with area manufactures to provide workforce training in precision manufacturing, welding and other needed trades.
The Rapid Response Manufacturing Center at The University of Texas-Pan American is another education component. The center provides services and expertise in research, development and demonstration; education; and innovation and technology based entrepreneurship and business incubation.
NAAMREI’s talent pipeline doesn’t stop at the Mexican border. Talent also comes from neighboring border cities and other parts of Mexico.
Future plans include a research park for the region. The network approach has helped regional partners leverage $22 million in start up funds, including a $5 million U.S. Department of Labor WIRED grant and a $3 million Texas Workforce Commission Skills Development grant.
For more information, contact Wanda Garza, wandag@southtexascollege.edu, 956-872-2770; or visit www.naamrei.org.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Valley's regional marketing plan comes together with logo, Web site | NAI Rio Grande Valley
Valley's regional marketing plan comes together with logo, Web site
September 17, 2009 8:20 PM
An incentive package the region’s leaders quietly put together to lure in an aerospace manufacturer was still in consideration at the end, said Steve Ahlenius, president of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. But the company looking to expand its operations instead turned to options in other states.
The “Project Thrust” effort was the first collaborative approach to economic development by the Rio South Texas Economic Council, a 19-member alliance formed earlier this year to promote the region.
The group’s first shot at economic development ended unsuccessfully, but Ahlenius said it showed them that working together at least puts them on the lists.
“It never would have happened” without the council, Ahlenius said. “There’s a lot of companies that are going to start coming because of this.”
Council members signed a resolution Thursday that Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas said is a step toward “collaborating to compete.”
He unveiled the group’s Web site — http://www.riosouthtexas.com/ — and presented its logo and slogan, “2 Countries, 1 Region, Many Choices.”
The collaboration resolution states the partners will work together to make the region competitive, promote its benefits and help each other to land projects.
Salinas, the chairman of the council and catalyst behind the effort, said the resolution pulls together a region that is among the nation’s 25 most populous if neighboring communities in Mexico are included.
It also gives the region the financial power to spread its message.
The council’s marketing budget through its member dues is $300,000, a number that could grow as it recruits businesses and other groups into its ranks.
An economic development team was hired this summer to develop a marketing strategy for the council.
Some items — the Web site, logo and slogan — were unveiled Thursday, but officials were tight-lipped on other elements of a 100-page marketing plan.
Splash events are in the works for Houston and New York to promote the region using a gamut of mail-outs, publications and studies.
The Web site will provide regional statistics on the workforce, incentives and educational assets, and it will soon include a database of available properties.
The effort gives smaller cities like San Juan access to marketing tools like the property database that it wouldn’t have with its own limited budget, said Miki McCarthy, executive director of the San Juan Economic Development Corp.
San Juan and other small cities usually can’t compete for companies seeking assets like a 200,000-square-foot building, she said. But the regional effort gives the city a chance to promote its small assets like a 50-acre plot of land that may be overlooked.
McCarthy said larger cities like McAllen can’t draw in big prospects without the support of smaller cities, which can benefit from having better job opportunities for their own residents.
“We’re dots on the map but we’re all feeding into the same population pool,” she said. “We can’t do it alone.”
____
Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4424.
September 17, 2009 8:20 PM
WESLACO — The Rio Grande Valley never made it past the short list.
An incentive package the region’s leaders quietly put together to lure in an aerospace manufacturer was still in consideration at the end, said Steve Ahlenius, president of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. But the company looking to expand its operations instead turned to options in other states.
The “Project Thrust” effort was the first collaborative approach to economic development by the Rio South Texas Economic Council, a 19-member alliance formed earlier this year to promote the region.
The group’s first shot at economic development ended unsuccessfully, but Ahlenius said it showed them that working together at least puts them on the lists.
“It never would have happened” without the council, Ahlenius said. “There’s a lot of companies that are going to start coming because of this.”
Council members signed a resolution Thursday that Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas said is a step toward “collaborating to compete.”
He unveiled the group’s Web site — http://www.riosouthtexas.com/ — and presented its logo and slogan, “2 Countries, 1 Region, Many Choices.”
The collaboration resolution states the partners will work together to make the region competitive, promote its benefits and help each other to land projects.
Salinas, the chairman of the council and catalyst behind the effort, said the resolution pulls together a region that is among the nation’s 25 most populous if neighboring communities in Mexico are included.
It also gives the region the financial power to spread its message.
The council’s marketing budget through its member dues is $300,000, a number that could grow as it recruits businesses and other groups into its ranks.
An economic development team was hired this summer to develop a marketing strategy for the council.
Some items — the Web site, logo and slogan — were unveiled Thursday, but officials were tight-lipped on other elements of a 100-page marketing plan.
Splash events are in the works for Houston and New York to promote the region using a gamut of mail-outs, publications and studies.
The Web site will provide regional statistics on the workforce, incentives and educational assets, and it will soon include a database of available properties.
The effort gives smaller cities like San Juan access to marketing tools like the property database that it wouldn’t have with its own limited budget, said Miki McCarthy, executive director of the San Juan Economic Development Corp.
San Juan and other small cities usually can’t compete for companies seeking assets like a 200,000-square-foot building, she said. But the regional effort gives the city a chance to promote its small assets like a 50-acre plot of land that may be overlooked.
McCarthy said larger cities like McAllen can’t draw in big prospects without the support of smaller cities, which can benefit from having better job opportunities for their own residents.
“We’re dots on the map but we’re all feeding into the same population pool,” she said. “We can’t do it alone.”
____
Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4424.
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