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

Jared Janes

The Monitor

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.”
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Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4424.

McAllen Area is the New Logistics and Distribution Center of North America | NAI Rio Grande Valley

McAllen is the new Memphis, says Patridge

Article from Rio Grande Guardian
By Joey Gomez and Steve Taylor

McAllen Economic Development President and CEO Keith Patridge.
(File photo: RGG/Joey Gomez)



McALLEN, Sept. 18 - The greater McAllen area is the new Memphis, Tennessee, the logistics and distribution center of North America, says McAllen Economic Development Corporation President Keith Patridge.

“Everybody used to call Memphis the center of the U.S. for distribution and logistics. I think we are now the Memphis of North America,” Patridge told the Guardian, in an exclusive interview.

Patridge made his comments after learning of the findings in the latest MetroMonitor quarterly report from the prestigious Brookings Institution. The report shows the greater McAllen area to be among the 20 most vibrant metro areas in the country. In fact, McAllen was one of only three metros to surpass pre-recession peak output in the second quarter of 2009. The others were Austin and Washington.

The report shows only five metro areas with stabilized employment numbers. Of those five, only McAllen posted a gain for the second straight quarter.

The Guardian asked Patridge why things were looking up for greater McAllen.

“I think it's a combination of a lot of things. Number one, it’s our demographics. We have a young and growing workforce,” Patridge said. “Even though the job market is very slow because of the downturn, once the economy comes back we will see the underlying labor shortages that come from the retiring baby boomers coming back. I think that is an important part, demographically we're strong.”

Geography plays a big part too, Patridge said. “We are centrally located in the North American population center, strategically located next to the largest market in the world, with very cost-effective manufacturing facilities just across the river from Reynosa. It also allows us to use the ports in Mexico to source products and components from the rest of the world and bring them in to Mexico, where we can then produce products and then ship them directly to the customer in the U.S,” Patridge said.

Another factor is the exchange rate, Patridge explained. “We are seeing costs go up again in China. Mexico, because of the economic downturn and the Peso to Dollar exchange rate, is actually starting to become more competitive. As the marketplace is constantly changing, right now Mexico is more competitive for the U.S. market than China is,” he said.

“It’s resulting in a lot of companies that are looking at focusing more attention on Mexico and the South Texas area. Because we are so tied in with what happens in Reynosa and Mexico, you'll continue to see this area being very attractive for companies to locate and expand. We are seeing that with our existing companies, they're continuing to expand all the time and it's going to create opportunities for us.”

Patridge does not want to play down the impact of the recession, which he acknowledges has not the global marketplace hard. The Texas Workforce Commission reported a slight decrease in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission MSA unemployment numbers on Friday. In August, the percentage was 11.4 percent, compared to 11.5 percent in July.

“We have felt the recession down here, but not really at the level of other locations. We are continuing to do pretty well in comparison to other locations. We are continuing to see companies coming in,” Patridge said.

Patridge cited the decision of Panasonic to move its divisional headquarters to McAllen from Knoxville, Tennessee. Alps Electric is moving its design center and much of its corporate support staff to McAllen from other locations across the United States.

“Those are good paying, more executive type, jobs that will help us provide job opportunities for many of our college graduates from both STC and UTPA,” Patridge said. “That's what it's all about. It's being able to not only train our folks here, but also create good paying jobs for them here locally. A lot of that is coming from the downturn and from the need for companies to reduce costs. They have identified that it just makes sense for them to move a lot of those port operations down closer to their plants which tend to be in Mexico.”

The future looks bright, Patridge insisted. “I think we are in a very good position because of our demographics, our workforce, our geographic location and just the trends of companies to reduce inventory and going to more of a build to order-type scenario,” he said.

“You can't do that from China or India. It's going to have to be from North America, and I think we're primed to see that growth. We're excited. You're exactly right. Just as we have an impact that is less than in most areas, I think we will be one of the first to come back also.”

Ramiro Garza, executive director of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, agreed with Patridge’s assessment. Garza told the Guardian he was very pleased to see the high marks being given to McAllen-Edinburg-Mission in the Brookings Institution report.

“It's very important because it shows the data that supports the fact that the area continues to do very well compared to other parts of the country. If you look at the report it shows that our metro was the only one that created jobs in the first two quarters of 2009. We are the only metro that is growing in terms of Gross Metro Product, which is really the way the area is evaluated,” Garza said.

Asked what factors led to this particular success, Garza said: “Our proximity to Mexico, the border and the fact that our Valley is stabilized; the fact that our population continues to grow. We are the only area that continues to grow at a rate faster than most areas in the country.”

Garza said Edinburg has several new and exciting projects on the horizon. In the industrial park, two manufacturers from Mexico are set to create about 30 jobs, he said. And the local call center, Tele-Performance, is also adding jobs.

“There is also a long term care facility being built here in Edinburg with about $7 million being invested and about 200 jobs being created on West University. There is a plaza being built on Trenton Road, which we just been approved through the EDC. It's a 30,000 square foot facility,” Garza said.


Write Joey Gomez and Steve Taylor

Development Boost Along Expressway 83 | Jackson Triangle McAllen, TX | NAI Rio Grande Valley

Development Boost Along Expressway 83
By Elizabeth C. Martinez
Valley Business Report

As economic pressures seem to be easing in certain parts of the country, phone calls from individuals making inquiries about retail and office space in McAllen has increased recently, according to Mike Blum, partner and managing broker for NAI Rio Grande Valley.

“In the past few weeks there have been more calls and showings of property for office and retail space,” Blum related. “The properties that people show most interest in McAllen are on North 10th Street, the downtown area, and especially along Expressway 83.”

One commercial retail plaza that has been constantly improving is Jackson Triangle, which is located on the Northwest corner of the intersection of Expressway 83 and Jackson Road in McAllen. The property will consist of approximately 37,800 square feet of retail space. The first of the Jackson Triangle tenants included Taco Cabana and AT&T. Since then, Baskin Robbins and Pay-N-Trade have joined them. Most recently, a sign for Cabrito Grill Steaks and Piano Bar went up.

Some of the most important things that businesses think about when choosing a retail of office space include: Is the location an ideal spot? Is there traffic in the area? And is it the right price?

Pedro G. Ayala, president of PGA Studio, Inc. a McAllen-based architecture firm, thinks about these questions when he signs on to work on a project.

“As a design principal for the firm, I feel I have a responsibility to create spaces that are going to be right for the occupants as well as their consumers,” Ayala explained.

“When it comes to building a retail environment, we always think about not only accomplishing the owner’s goals such as maximizing the site and cost constraints, and creating an attractive façade for the community and not turning it’s back on a major street as seen in other Big Box Retail Zones.”

Ed Alvarado, AIA, who worked on the Jackson Triangle project with Ayala, noted that the area is exposed to over 170,000 vehicles per day. Because of its unique triangular shape, doors face the bordering streets, thus creating the most storefront for the owner and the tenant. Not bad, for businesses who seek visibility.

Given the positive signs commercial real estate is beginning to move in the Upper Valley, there still remains to be a heighten focus on falling rent prices and the increasing number of defaults on commercial real estate loans.


Elizabeth C. Martinez is a partner in the public relations firm of Media Morphosis phone (956) 821-8662. Martinez served as Managing Editor and General Manager of The Business Times

Two U.S. Companies Shifting Production to McAllen, TX Border Town, Reynosa, MX | NAI Rio Grande Valley

Kohler sinks U.S. plant, expands in Reynosa

September 16, 2009 11:23 PM

By Sean Gaffney

The Monitor

McALLEN — Two U.S. companies announced plans this week to shift production to factories in Reynosa, bolstering unemployment in a maquiladora industry assailed by a global downturn in manufacturing.

On Monday, Kohler Co. said it will shutter a U.S. plant and fold production of stainless steel sinks into its Reynosa facility. On Wednesday, Steelcase, an office furniture manufacturer, said it will open a new facility to build chairs in early 2010.

Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Steelcase said it was unsure how many jobs the new facility would create.

Kohler said the expansion of its factory in Reynosa will not create new jobs. The company will rehire workers that had been laid off. Kohler declined to say how many jobs have been cut this recession.

With the downturn in housing, demand for sinks manufactured at Kohler’s Searcy, Ark., facility had fallen and the company had to fuse production with the factory in Reynosa, Todd Weber, a vice president for the Kohler, Wis.-based manufacturer said.

“Both of our plants are underutilized,” he added. Kohler expects to close the Searcy facility by the end of the year.

Steelcase expects to launch production at its new factory in early 2010, said Jeanine Holquist, a company official. None of the company’s other factories will be closed and no workers will be laid off, she added.

“We were looking for a place to consolidate our chair production,” Holquist said. “It gave us a great location to serve customers across North America and it helps us to control shipping cost as well.”

Kohler and Steelcase are the latest major manufacturers this summer to announce expansion in Reynosa. LG Electronics said in July that it was folding production at a plant just across the border from California into its Reynosa maquiladora. The South Korean manufacturer said it expects to create 1,200 jobs with the shift which is expected to finish this month.

A global downturn in manufacturing has slammed Reynosa’s maquiladoras this year, contributing to a 5.3 percent decline in employment. Analysts have said the job loss is slowing and that manufacturing in Reynosa should begin recovering by 2010.

Often, new employment in Reynosa comes at the cost of domestic manufacturing jobs. At the Searcy, Ark. plant, which famously weathered a strike that lasted from December 2006 to November 2007, the majority of Kohler’s 57 employees will lose their jobs the day before Thanksgiving.

Buck Layne, president of the Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce, said that while the city was disappointed to lose the factory, the area has actually added jobs in recent months that could help mitigate the loss. The factory, which opened in 1966, once employed more than 400 people, Layne said.

The Reynosa plant, the other facility which manufactures sinks, opened in 2002 when the “housing market was thriving (and) demand for stainless steel sinks was equally robust,” the company said in a press release.

The recent economic revitalization in Searcy, a city with a population of about 20,000, has been led by natural gas companies, which have added about 2,000 jobs in the last 18 months, Layne said.

“It’s a global economy these days, but we need to make sure that we’re playing on an even field,” Layne said. “It’s just very discouraging to see jobs leaving the U.S.”

Sean Gaffney covers business, the economy and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-443

McAllen, TX Continues to be Recognized Nationally for Enduring the Storm in the Mist of Bad News

Brookings: Economic picture not looking strong for Tampa Bay area
Tampa Bay Business Journal

The economy is no longer in a freefall but that hasn’t stopped three metropolitan areas in the Tampa Bay region to be included among the 20 weakest performing areas in the country.

A new report from the Brookings Institution shows that Tampa-St. Petersburg, Bradenton-Sarasota and Lakeland are among 20 metro areas that combined have sustained an average employment decline of 8.2 percent and an average home price drop of 11 percent over the last year. They join five other Florida metros: Cape Coral, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando and Palm Bay.

Bradenton-Sarasota is 12.5 percent below its peak employment levels before the start of the current recession, worse than the 7.3 percent fall from Tampa-St. Petersburg and 4.1 percent drop from the country as a whole. Florida dominates the list of metro areas experiencing the largest job losses from their peak, joining Ohio and California.

The Tampa, Bradenton and Lakeland metros, however, are losing jobs at a slower rate in the second quarter than they did in the first quarter, a statistic Miami and Palm Bay can’t latch on to since their job losses were greater in the second quarter than in the first quarter. Only Akron, Ohio; Buffalo, N.Y., Columbia, S.C.; Madison, Wis., and McAllen, Texas, gained jobs in the second quarter of 2009 compared with the first quarter.

Housing prices played a big role in the report’s results. Florida metros make up nearly half the bottom 15 in year-over-year house price index changes.
Tampa metro prices were down 11.4 percent compared to the second quarter of 2008. Bradenton metro prices were down 14 percent.

Miami-Fort Lauderdale had the biggest drop of all the metros in Florida with a 19.3 percent decline, but none could top Las Vegas, where home prices have fallen 24.4 percent over the last year.

The number of bank-owned properties, or REOs, per 1,000 mortgageable properties between March and June rose in most Florida metros, but Bradenton led the nation in reducing its number of REOs by 0.43 percent. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, on the other hand, had the worst change among the top metros, gaining 2.88 percent in REOs.

The quarterly MetroMonitor study from Brookings is designed to peek “beneath the hood” of national economic statistics to portray the varied metropolitan landscape of recession and recovery across the country, a release said. MetroMonitor tracks employment, gross metropolitan product, housing prices and REOs as a basis for its conclusions and covers any metro area that had at least 500,000 residents in 2007, which collectively contain two-thirds of the nation’s jobs and generate three-quarters of GDP.

Another Lease in the Neuhaus Tower | NAI Rio Grande Valley McAllen, TX

Another lease by NAI Rio Grande Valley in the Neuhaus Tower, McAllen, TX. We are pleased to welcome the Valley Symphony Orchestra & Chorale to the Neuhaus Tower.

Mike Blum, Linda Cantu & Roger Stolley with NAI Rio Grande Valley were the leasing agents.

Anzalduas International Bridge in the Heart of Advanced Manufacturing | NAI Rio Grande Valley

America's Newest International Bridge in the Heart of Advanced Manufacturing

PR Newswire United Business Media

MCALLEN, Texas ,Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- In a region heavily dependant on cross-border trade comes the Anzalduas International Bridge, the nation's newest crossing into the industrial border cities in Mexico.
There are over one million people working at some 4,000 maquiladoras concentrated along the U.S./Mexico border. Maquiladoras are manufacturing or export assembly plants operated in Mexico under preferential tariff programs established by the U.S. and Mexican governments.
The presence of these maquiladoras provides considerable advantages to the economic environment along the border by increasing trade, generating employment and acquiring local resources - all important stimuli to the economy in McAllen and the rest of the South Texas area.
The benefits of low-cost Mexican labor and the opportunities created by NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) have kept many foreign companies turning to the maquiladoras for labor and advanced manufacturing processes. Most lie within a short drive from the border and less than 15 minutes away from the city of McAllen -- the perfect location to take advantage of the international market and the opportunities created through NAFTA.
Although no date has officially been set, the Anzalduas Bridge is scheduled to open in October 2009 and will directly connect Mission and McAllen, TX to the industrial hub of Reynosa, Mexico. It will offer a quicker and safer route for crossing the border, and will eventually be the most efficient way for commercial traffic from northern Mexico to reach U.S. highways.
McAllen and its surrounding sister cities are equipped with world-class infrastructure connecting businesses to local, international and global communities. With close proximity to the Mexican border cities of Reynosa, Matamoros, Monterrey, and with the infrastructure in place to reach Mexico with ease, the area provides unmatched opportunities and resources for businesses looking to relocate.
As McAllen and the rest of South Texas continue to develop, and with the opening of the Anzalduas International Bridge, the economic ties between South Texas and Mexico will also continue to strengthen.

SOURCE McAllen

Why should I locate my business in a business park? | 495 Commerce Center McAllen, TX in the Rio Grande Valley | NAI Rio Grande Valley

When looking for a location for the life of your business considering a business park may be the way to go. Business Parks offer its residents flexibity, growth opportunities and development standards that ensure the value of their investment. To better understand the benefits of locating your business in a business park I have shared an excerpt from Business Park and Industrial Development Handbook by Anne Frej.

“The business parks of today are the product of an evolutionary process. From their antecedents in the manufacturing-oriented industrial estates and parks of the early 20th century, they have become dynamic workplace settings for business, incubators for new technologies, and employment centers that contribute to the economic life of many communities.

Flexibility is key to their success. Business parks not only accommodate a mix of activities such as storage, light manufacturing, research, and office functions, all in a planned and controlled setting; they also can be adapted in form and function to meet changes in the market. This attribute has been critical in recent years, as rapid technological innovation has created new requirements for the industrial sector. The growth of e-commerce and just-in-time distribution systems has led to the transformation of warehouses into sophisticated logistics centers. The need for flexible work spaces that can house office and industrial activities under one roof has resulted in new hybrid buildings known as flex space. The growth of employee-intensive operations such as call centers and data processing centers at business parks has increased population densities there and resulted in requirements for more parking and better on-site amenities and services.

For occupiers, business parks offer the capacity to grow and expand at the same location. With multiple buildings of different types, sizes, and prices to choose from, all in one business park, startup companies can bring operations in small-scale incubator space and eventually move to more prestigious headquarters without ever changing their operations, from high visibility corporate headquarters to inexpensive back-office or flex space. Leasing space, buying a facility, or having it built to specifications are also possible options for occupiers in modern multiphase business parks.

For developers, business parks offer flexibility as well. Despite business parks’ being long-term investments with large budgets because of their size and infrastructure requirements, developers have the benefit of deciding whether to sell unimproved land parcels or completed buildings in a business park. Risk is also minimized by the opportunity to phase development, relying on positive market conditions or formal lease or sale agreements before proceeding with construction. Many developers will not initiate a project until a formal commitment has been received to lease or buy a major portion of the project.

Communities reap potential benefits from business parks. In an era of increasing competition to attract new businesses and jobs, many governments see business parks as a tool to stimulate economic development. In some cases, the agreement is strong enough to warrant the public sector’s active participation in the formation of business parks and the provision of tax incentives or financing assistance to developers.” Read more

In most cases land or building space within a business park is going to come with a higher price tag. But when determining the right location for the life of your business it is important to consider the price verses your cost. Price is a one time thing, and usually cheaper on the on set, but cost is over the lifetime of your investment. A lot of locations can beat business parks on price, but very rarely can they beat on cost. Since cost is lifetime thing, don’t you want the best possible location for your investment?

495 Commerce Center in McAllen, TX located in the Rio Grande Valley is an excellent example of a business park development done right. The 110 acre master-planned business and professional community offers a strategic location in an ideal setting that has proven to be a sound investment. Two government agencies, call center, and several professional buildings already call 495 Commerce Center home. Take a video tour to see first hand what a true business park is all about.

How has Texas Weathered the Economic Storm? NAI Rio Grande Valley McAllen, TX in the Rio Grande Valley

Article by Texas Realtor August 2009

Go figure

Although the Texas economy is in a recession, it’s weathering it better than the rest of the nation as a whole. Here are some facts and figures to give you a sense of how the state is doing.

2.6% Percentage of jobs lost in Texas between June 2008 and June 2009

4.2% Percentage of jobs lost in the entire U.S. between June 2008 and June 2009

2.7% Increase in Texas unemployment rate between June 2008 and June 2009

3.9% Increase in U.S. unemployment rate between June 2008 and June 2009

$154,700 Median price of single-family home in Texas in June 2008

$155,000 Median price of single-family home in Texas in June 2009

Source: Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University

The Right Location for the Life of Your Business | 495 Commerce Center McAllen, South Texas in the Rio Grande Valley

Strategic Location
495 Commerce Center is a mixed-use development, planned to put your business on the fast track to success. This Class-A business park is strategically located in McAllen, TX in the Rio Grande Valley. View video tour and property photos.

495 Commerce Center provides excellent access to nearby international bridges and is only minutes from the McAllen Miller International Airport. 495 is less than 60 miles from a deep port, 240 miles from San Antonio and 120 miles from Monterrey, Mexico.

495 Commerce Center is also close to business services and community support viable for any business. Whether your business is professional, retail, manufacturing, showroom, distribution or service-oriented, 495 Commerce Center puts you in the right place at the right time. At 495 Commerce Center you will enjoy direct access & close proximity to:
Regional transportation
Future Interstate I-69
McAllen’s main post office
Fed-Ex & UPS hubs
Hospitals & medical support services
National retailers
International airport
2 international bridges
Federal, State & County courts

Wise Investment
Your location in 495 Commerce Center will be a secure investment. Architectural and development standards, an owner’s association and a common area maintenance program will promote enduring property values. Development standards control permitted building types, uses and mix, as well as quality of construction, parking, landscaping and the architectural character of the project.

Location
495 Commerce Center is situated on FM 495 (Pecan Blvd.), a prominent thoroughfare that offers high visibility and easy access to major transportation arteries. Thoughtfully designed landscaping elements, including a lake and jogging trails, enhance the campus like quality of this business park.

Ideal location for:
Call centers
Manufacturer showrooms
Distribution centers
Warehousing
Professional offices
Retail
Government buildings

For more information and prices about 495 Commerce Center please contact Charles D. Mueller with NAI Rio Grande Valley