Little by little McAllen is becoming a threat to the leading inland port between Mexico and the U.S.

Little by little McAllen is becoming a threat to the leading inland port between Mexico and the U.S.

LaredoSun.us

Sunday, December 13, 2009

By: FRANCISCO DÍAZ

LAREDO, Tx.- While Laredo is still indecisive about building a new international bridge, McAllen, in the Texas Valley, is little by little becoming a serious threat to the leading inland port between Mexico and the U.S.

On Tuesday December 15 the new international bridge Anzaldúas will open its doors to the public. The bridge was constructed between McAllen, Mission and Hidalgo, Texas, while on the Mexican side Reynosa was the sole partner.

This new international crossing is being promoted as the longest bridge between Mexico and the U.S. with a length of almost 4 miles; and it is the third international crossing for this border region.

Roy Cantu, public information officer in McAllen said in a press release that this bridge will eventually become the shortest and fastest route to connect to Monterrey and Mexico City.

The international bridge had a total cost of 80 million dollars for the U.S. side, and it has two lanes in each direction, plus it has two more lanes for damaged vehicles that can later be used for commercial vehicles, when international trade demands it.

The bridge is located three miles up the river from the Hidalgo and Reynosa bridge.

Leaders from the community as such as ex County Judge Mercurio Martinez, warned the local authorities that time is running by and that other ports can end up winning us in the race, if we continue to have such a passive and indifferent attitude.

"It is time to move and begin to work together and get ready for the tremendous amount of international trade loads that will come especially from Lazaro Cardenas Port in Mexico," Martinez pointed out.

Unfortunately in this border the project for a new international bridge is still stuck because even though Nuevo Laredo wants to go forward with it, the Laredo authorities decided to go a step back and change the location that had already been decided on for the construction of the new bridge.

Project 45 is the location promoted by Nuevo Laredo Mayor Ramon Garza Barrios, together with the government of the state of Tamaulipas, which aims at building the bridge on the south side of the city, in a piece of land that abuts with the U.S.side, near Rio Bravo and El Cenizo, and the outskirts of Laredo.

"We need to work together and we must do it now, we can't continue waiting, it would be great if we could reach an agreement now and start as soon as possible with this project that will benefit both sides," Wawi Tijerina stated.

It must be pointed out that the Webb County authorities do support Nuevo Laredo's plan, however it was Laredo's City Council that decided to all of the sudden put a hold on the project, and move it the location to a place that seems almost impossible to build a bridge for the Mexican side.

County Judge Danny Valdez mentioned that if this not the time to build a bridge, then it is time to start with all the planning and studies, to have them ready whenever it is time to build it and thus avoid other bridges and cities to take a head start over los Dos Laredos region.

While Laredo only has "bickering", McAllen has a new international bridge in two days, and they will take advantage of the sleepiness that has taken over the Laredo authorities.

Border Bank Hits Billion Dollar Mark

Border Bank Hits Billion Dollar Mark
By Kent Paterson
(Scroll down to learn more about Texas Border Business's New official Guest Writer)
Texas Border Business

In a milestone of sorts, the North American Development Bank (NADB) recently exceeded the billion dollar mark in financing projects for the US-Mexico border region. Chartered as a result of the environmental side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement, the NADB provides loans and grants to both US and Mexican communities.

The latest projects funded by the bank include road paving in Tijuana, wastewater treatment and systems in Nuevo Laredo and storm water systems in El Paso, Texas. In El Paso, the bank has agreed to purchase $53 million in 20-year municipal revenue bonds at a 5.38 percent interest rate.

Juan Antonio Flores, NADB spokesperson, told Frontera NorteSur the deal was a good one for the Texas border city, since 35 percent of the interest payments on the loan will be reimbursed to El Paso by federal stimulus funds. “They get interest brought down,” Flores said.

The NADB official said construction of the system, which should help El Paso withstand flooding disasters like the one that struck the city in 2006 as well recharge the stressed Bolson Hueco Aquifer, is expected to commence in January 2010.

Besides the Tijuana road paving contracted out to the Cemex Company, the NADB has agreed to finance a $22 million water and wastewater project for both the Baja California border city and Playas de Rosarito to the south.

The NADB has been especially active on the Mexican side of the border. In Nuevo Laredo, for instance, a $57.7 million wastewater treatment plant and system was inaugurated last week in a ceremony attended by Tamaulipas Governor Eugenio Hernandez Flores, Nuevo Laredo Mayor Ramon Garza Barrios and NADB Deputy Managing Director Hector Camacho.

The new wastewater treatment system is expected to reduce contamination of the Rio Grande shared by both Mexico and the US.

The San Antonio-based bank channeled $25.4 million for the project, including $20 million in grant funds from the Border Environment Infrastructure Fund, which is supported by funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The new wastewater treatment system is expected to reduce contamination of the Rio Grande shared by both Mexico and the US. Additionally, NADB is providing $84 million to Nuevo Laredo for storm water collection and street paving purposes.

“There’s always been a greater need in Mexico and the terms of loans are affordable in Mexico.”

“In addition to the obvious environmental benefits for Nuevo Laredo, these projects will also help from an economic development standpoint and strengthen competitiveness,” the NADB’s Hector Camacho said in a statement.

According to Flores, several factors are behind the surge in NADB funding in northern Mexico, including a greater willingness on the part of Mexican governments to take on debt, the availability of matching funds from the EPA and the Calderon administration’s drive to increase wastewater treatment capacity in the country.

“We’re more active in Mexico,” Flores said. “There’s always been a greater need in Mexico and the terms of loans are affordable in Mexico.”

NADB loans, which charge Mexican clients between 8.6 and 10.5 percent in interest, are less expensive than those offered by commercial banks south of the border, Flores said. Although the NADB rates would be considered high for US communities, which get lower interest rates from the bank because they are pegged to the US Treasury indexes, current bank interest rates for Mexico are “still good” for the country, he maintained.

In the entire border region, the NADB is helping fund 132 environmental infrastructure projects valued at $1.07 billion...

Back in the Paso del Norte borderland, NADB funding of nearly $23 million in grants from the EPA-sponsored Border Environment Infrastructure Fund is in the pipeline for four water quality and wastewater treatment projects in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. A project planned for the town of Anthony south of Las Cruces, New Mexico, includes arsenic removal.

In the entire border region, the NADB is helping fund 132 environmental infrastructure projects valued at $1.07 billion, according to a bank tally issued this month. In terms of the geographic breakdown of the projects, about 70 percent are situated in Mexico and 30 percent in the United States, according to Flores.

About Mr. Paterson
Kent Paterson Editor - A veteran journalist, Kent Paterson has covered the borderlands, Mexico and Latin America for more than two decades. A frequent contributor to Radio Bilingue and other public radio programs, his stories have appeared on hundreds of stations throughout the world. He has written for publications including Ecoamericas, New Mexico Business Weekly, Crosswinds, Pacific News Service, and more. Kent is the author of the award-winning book The Hot Empire of Chile, a history of the New Mexico chile pepper industry. Kent’s work has been recognized by numerous awards from the New Mexico Associated Press Broadcasters Association, New Mexico Press Women and the national Radio-Television News Directors Association. TBB

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McAllen MSA makes top Forbes list

McAllen MSA makes top Forbes list
Action 4 News
Valleycentral.com

With people trying to get the most for their money during this economic crisis, it looks like the Valley just might be the place to do that. Click Here to Watch Video

Rio Grande Valley better understood in Asia than in other parts

Patridge: Rio Grande Valley better understood in Asia than in other parts of Texas

Rio Grande Guardian

By Steve Taylor and Ron Whitlock

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

McALLEN, Dec. 8 - Industrialists and political leaders in China, Japan and South Korea often know more about the Rio Grande Valley than those in Houston, Dallas or Austin.

That’s the view of McAllen Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Keith Patridge.

“Every time I go to Austin or Dallas or Houston I am struck by how little people know about the Rio Grande Valley. They know less than many people in China or Japan or Korea. They think they know about us but when you ask them when they were last here they will say, ‘oh, I was there 20 or 30 years ago.’ All they think is, we’ve got a bunch of orange trees down here,” Patridge said.

Patridge said the MEDC held seminars in Japan and South Korea just over a month ago. “There was a lot of interest and as a result several companies are looking at major investments in the Valley. I can tell you, they know where McAllen, Texas is. They know more about us than our brethren in Austin or north Texas,” Patridge said.

Patridge made his comments in a wide-ranging interview about economic development along the border with the Guardian and Ron Whitlock Reports, KVEO-TV’s flagship political talk show that airs every Sunday morning.

Patridge mentioned the lack of knowledge many Texas business and political leaders have about the Valley in response to a question about the importance of the Valley Legislator Tours that are hosted every two years by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. Last week, the Partnership’s legendary President and CEO, Bill Summers, passed away and concern has been raised as to whether the tours will continue without him.

“The Valley Legislator Tours are vital,” Patridge said. “The big thing these legislative visits allow us to do is change the perception of, oh, the poor Rio Grande Valley. The perception that we do not have anything; that we have the worst education and the worst unemployment; that we are simply coming to Austin with our hat in our hand wanting money because we are poor.”

Patridge said Summers was a visionary with a pure heart.

“Bill did not want to show the legislators how poor we are. He wanted to show them how dynamic we are and how quickly we are growing. He would tell them, we do not need money to take care of problems; we need money to take care of growth,” Patridge said. “The Legislator Tours are really critical. I wish we could get them all down here.”

State Rep. Armando “Mando” Martinez, D-Weslaco, agreed. Like Patridge, Martinez said Summers was an impossible act to follow.

“I have thought long and hard about this and clearly we have to cultivate Bill’s vision and ideas. We have to keep the regional approach that he preached. We need to do everything we can to keep going what Bill has put together. We need someone to replace Bill who is aggressive but with a personality like Bill’s who can work with others,” Martinez said.

One of the ideas Summers proposed long before most economic development leaders in the Valley was the creation of a Valley-wide Metropolitan Statistical Area, or MSA. Patridge said he was working on a proposal to take that idea one stage further and create a NAFTA MSA that would combine key statistical information on McAllen and Reynosa, or Brownsville and Matamoros. Right now, the United States and Mexico only recognize the population on their respective sides of the border.

“Can you imagine taking Austin, Texas, and saying, you cannot consider anything south of Town Lake? The people in Austin would say you are nuts. That is what they are doing to us when they do not include the population in Reynosa,” Patridge said.

Patridge said he has spoken with staff in the offices of U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn and U.S. Reps. Rubén Hinojosa and Henry Cuellar about his proposal. He said the response was favorable. He said he has also spoken to economic development officials in Arizona and California and they like the proposal too.

The vehicle through which the population statistics on both sides of the border could be obtained would be the North American Development Bank, which operates in both the U.S. and Mexico, Patridge said.

“NADBank is the perfect vehicle to fund the collection of that data. You would get a true snapshot of this region as an economic unit. We could then address ways of making sure this economic unit is successful,” Patridge said.

Patridge concluded by saying that, despite the recession, McAllen-Reynosa is on track to grow because of its central location and relatively low wage costs.

“Draw a line north of McAllen and you will find 80 percent of the people of the United States living east of that line. If you are producing products in Tijuana and your customers are 2,000 miles east and diesel is $5 a gallon, it just does not make sense. I believe McAllen-Reynosa is the Memphis of North America,” he said.

“Put it another way. Where else in the world do you have an instance where, on the north side you have the largest market in the world and on the south side some of the most competitive labor rates, $2.20 an hour, fully-fringed?”

Rio Grande Guardian

Ron Whitlock, of KVEO-TV's Ron Whitlock Reports, contributed to this story. The show airs every Sunday on Channel 23, immediately following Meet The Press.

Rio Grande Valley Region Aims for Strategic Growth with Map Project

Region aims for strategic growth with map project
The Monitor
By: Jared Janes
Nov 29, 2009


UTPA is developing an inventory of the county’s assets for economic development.

Any good strategic plan is grounded in data, says Mike Blum, a commercial real estate broker.

But when the strategic plan is for economic development in a large and diverse county, putting the data together is a monumental task, he said. To get there, they must compile a hard detailed set of facts, figures and resources from wide ranging sources.

But once the data is put together, officials will have a better understanding of what the county needs as it
prepares its strategic plan.

“(The data) will display to everyone who wants to hear about it — we know who we are,” said Blum, a committee member who is helping to draft a list of the county’s assets. “This is what we’re made of.”

A team of eight University of Texas-Pan American researchers are finalizing an asset map they started in April as part of an economic development process.

Asset mapping identifies all the resources in a region, compares them to other areas and provides a base for strategic planning, said Michael Uhrbrock, the project manager who works in the university’s Division of Community Engagement.

The asset map gives community leaders a feel for what they’re working with as they draft a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, he said.

The development strategy acts as a guide to identify investment priorities and funding sources for the overall
economy or a general industry.

Hidalgo County is focusing on growth in the health care industry, including hospitals, research institutions and
manufacturers.

The county judge’s office received a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to develop the strategic plan, said Brian Kelsey, an Austin-based consultant who is acting as an adviser on the project.

But the critical part of the strategic plan is the asset map, which is essentially an inventory of everything that
can be used for economic development purposes.

Nobody has taken a comprehensive look at all the assets in the county and stored it in one place, Kelsey said. Available in a database format, the asset map serves as a one-stop source for all information about the county.

Asset mapping has been used elsewhere with success.

The closure of Maytag’s corporate headquarters and plant in Newton, Iowa, left more than 1,000 people in the city unemployed, he said. But the city had an asset map that showed the unemployed workers were in demand for industries of the future.

Two months after Maytag’s plant closed, a wind turbine manufacturer said it would produce its blades in the old Maytag facilities.

With Hidalgo County preparing an asset map, the county will be positioned to attract investment as it comes
out of the recession, Kelsey said.

“A lot of regions are finding strategic plans are much more successful when they start off with a base of
knowledge,” he said. “It’s what the asset mapping process is about.”

The county’s asset map will emphasize its ability to attract or grow its health care industry, said Fausto Meza,
an administrator at Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance and a member of the committee compiling the asset map.

The industry is among the fastest-growing in the nation with a direct impact on many others since all businesses need healthy employees, he said. The industry’s scope extends far beyond hospitals with medical
manufacturers and research institutions all in high demand.

The committee is looking at the county’s skilled labor force, the existing hospitals and places for care and other assets it has in health care. The asset map will help the county develop a plan to grow its health care industry, benefitting the community through jobs and better healthcare resources.

“We’re going to have a product at the end that we can use to make strategic decisions,” he said. “We won’t be able to intelligently do that without the research done first.”

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

McAllen bus terminal completes $1.7 million renovation

McAllen bus terminal completes $1.7 million renovation

The Monitor

December 06, 2009 7:44 PM

Nick Pipitone

McALLEN — McAllen’s Central Station is in the final stages of a $1.7 million renovation that Transit Director Elizabeth Suarez said will ease traffic congestion that often tied up city buses and cars along 15th Street.

Central Station — which averages 60 bus departures per day — moved its bus loading and unloading area from along 15th Street to a new drop-off location behind the station on Austin Street.

The drop-off location is separated by a gate and divided into two lanes for McAllen Express Transit (MET) bus traffic and passenger vehicle traffic.

Previously, city buses and cars mingled along 15th Street, sometimes backing onto Business 83, Suarez said. This new drop-off point will alleviate much of that traffic, she said, and will allow friends and family to drop off bus patrons to an area covered by new canopies.

“It’s protection for the weather and, for us down here, protection from the sun,” Suarez said. “The idea is if you’re waiting for your ride at 7:30 at night, you also have a safe place to sit.”

Traffic at the new drop-off point on Austin Street will be able to exit westbound onto 16th Street and circle the building if necessary. Before, that wasn’t an option.

Austin is a one-way street directed eastbound and, previously, taxi cabs lined the street behind the station. They would often merge at the intersection with city buses and passenger vehicles.

“Before, it was a bottleneck,” Suarez said. “It was a nightmare.”

Now, taxis line up along 15th Street and are generally out of the way of bus traffic.

“This renovation helps us,” Suarez said. “It was an expansion that was very eagerly anticipated.”

The city transit department began the renovations in January. The project came under budget — it was slated for $2.2 million — and 80 percent of the cost was reimbursed through a Federal Transit Administration grant.

The city is still putting the final touches on the renovation but decided to open up the new drop-off area last week because of the inclement weather.

Central Station has been a boon for the city’s downtown shopping district since opening in 2001 and averages about 3 million visitors per year. The station provides room for 14 private bus companies, in addition to MET buses and Rio Transit, the small Hidalgo County rural transportation system.

More than 15,000 people travel into Mexico from ...

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La Feria business to create 150 jobs

La Feria business to create 150 jobs
Sunday, December 06, 2009 6:52 PM
(Source: Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas))By Allen Essex, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas


Dec. 6--LA FERIA -- A new Allied Waste Services Co. corporate office building and waste transfer station will bring 150 jobs to the city, company spokesman Brad Dugas said.

During a late Tuesday City Commission meeting, Dugas said construction of the facilities at 1800 Solis Road will take place during 2010 and 2011 and it will go into operation in late 2011.

Commissioners voted to approve a specific use permit for the facility after Dugas assured them that his company will build the facility and hire the number of people it is committed to employ under a grant program through the Texas Capital Fund.

Mayor Steve Brewer said the agreement with Allied to bring in 150 jobs and the opening of a new sewage treatment plant this week are very positive developments for the city.

Thirty-five acres of land will be purchased for the Allied project, City Manager Sunny Philip said.

La Feria will invest $600,000 to extend water and sewer lines and widen the road to the plant, Philip said.

That amount will be a 100 percent grant from the Texas Capital Fund, he said. The local matching amount will be Allied's investment of $10 million to $12 million, he said.

Allied will initially hire 120 workers and must hire 30 more people within three years after the plant goes into operation, the city manager said.

Dugas said his company is committed to completing the project and going into operation. If hiring goals are not met, his company must pay penalties under its agreement with the city and state, he said.

Dugas said the corporate offices in La Feria will oversee the company's business for the entire Rio Grande Valley.

Allied Waste and Browning-Ferris Industries are subsidiaries of Republic Services, Dugas said.

Philip said city officials celebrated the opening of a new sewage treatment facility and wildlife and nature park on Monday.

Texas Parks & Wildlife officials told city leaders that a nature park will be completed in four to five years at the site and will draw eco-tourists to La Feria, he said.

The new plant will be able to provide treated water for any future golf course or cooling water for any electric power plant that may be developed in the city, Philip said.

Edinburg breaks ground on new Boys & Girls Club

Edinburg breaks ground on new Boys & Girls Club

December 02, 2009 10:23 PM
Jared Janes
The Monitor

EDINBURG — Alba Escobedo credits the Boys & Girls Club of Edinburg with where she is today. Escobedo, 21, joined the club when she was 7. It kept her out of trouble while growing up in a neighborhood full of drugs and gangs, gave her scholarships to get through college at the University of Texas-Pan American and kept her in the area with a full-time job as a grants administrator.

“I wouldn’t be here without it,” she said Wednesday at a groundbreaking for the club’s expansive new facility. “Now there’s no limitations for what (younger club members) can do.”

City officials, community leaders and a busload of schoolchildren gathered Wednesday to break ground on an $11.4 million project that will be the face of the city for many drivers heading south on U.S. 281.

The 20-acre plot of land near the intersection of U.S. 281 and Rogers Road will soon feature a full outdoor park with athletic fields, playgrounds and a walking trail.

The interior of the 32,700-square-foot facility — twice as large as the club’s old one on South 18th Avenue — will feature all the traditional club spaces, including a game room, cafeteria and gym.

Mayor Richard Garcia also announced Wednesday that the Edinburg Economic Development Corp. and IDEA Academy are planning new locations nearby.

The muddy groundbreaking on a chilly afternoon will put the Edinburg club close to its goal of opening the new facility by November 2010, the club’s 40th anniversary, said Sabrina Walker, the chief professional officer for the nonprofit. Fundraisers are $500,000 shy of the initial goal they set when they kicked off the capital campaign five years ago.

The club is raising the last of the money by selling sponsorship of square feet in the building, which will serve over 16,000 youth.

The city of Edinburg has contributed $2 million to the project using proceeds left over from when it sold a city-owned hospital in the 1990s.

City Councilman Gene Espinoza said the municipality’s investment shows it wants to improve the quality of life of local residents.

The large park surrounding the club will be..

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America's Best Bang-For-The-Buck Cities: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metro Area Ranks 7th Out of 100

America's Best Bang-For-The-Buck Cities
Forbes.com
Francesca Levy, 11.30.09, 06:00 PM EST

Solid housing markets, relatively stable employment, enviable cost of living and quick commutes make these metros among the country's most affordable to live.

1 - Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metro Area
2 - Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Metro Area
3 - Jackson, MS Metro Area
4 - Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area
5 - Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro Area
6 - Wichita, KS Metro Area 
7 - McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metro Area
8 - Chattanooga, TN-GA Metro Area
9 - Colorado Springs, CO Metro Area

Click Here for Complete Article

San Juan enters second phase of downtown revitalization plan

San Juan enters second phase of downtown revitalization plan

City leaders hope more Basilica voters will “pray and stay”
November 28, 2009 7:09 PM
The Monitor
Nick Pipitone

SAN JUAN — The San Juan Economic Development Corp. kicked off phase two of a downtown revitalization plan Nov. 19 and will focus on public outreach over the next four months in crafting a “cohesive vision” for downtown San Juan.

City leaders said that by creating a pedestrian corridor to the downtown area near Nebraska Street and Business 83, they will be able to attract and retain more of the estimated 20,000 to 30,000 Mexican nationals and visitors who come to see the National Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle every week.

“Many visitors come via a charter bus so they don’t have a method or means for transportation,” corporation Executive Director Miki McCarthy said. “Our plan is geared toward giving them all the amenities they need for a full visit. They come and pray. We’d like them to pray and stay.”

The city spent $50,000 on a feasibility and infrastructure study in August and identified the infrastructure improvements needed downtown to accommodate future commercial growth.

McCarthy said new water and sewer lines, improved drainage and sidewalk improvements need to be addressed first.

“Once we accomplish those, then we’re talking about aesthetic improvements that would follow,” she said.

McCarthy said the city is envisioning lighting, water features, shaded areas and landscaping that would beatify the downtown area.

The city has invested $120,000 into this second phase of the project — the designing, planning and public outreach stages that will culminate into the creation of the city’s downtown revitalization plan.

The plan will lay out guidelines and regulations for downtown redevelopment, including new construction, building rehabilitation and sidewalk and street improvements.

During the four-month phase, the development corporation will host several forums for business owners and the community to attend in order to provide input for the plan.

At the forums, the city will showcase the different design options provided by civil and engineering firm Edminister, Hinshaw, Russ and Associates Inc., which the city hired as its primary consultant on the project.

“Are we going to preserve our historic structures? Will downtown have more of a Main Street-feel or will it be newer construction? These are all questions we’re considering,” McCarthy said.

She said there will one town hall meeting a month from January through April, and the city will begin advertising them with a billboard downtown and in store front windows in December.

City officials said San Juan residents will also benefit by having more entertainment options downtown—instead of having to leave the city.

“We’d hate to see (downtown) become an old ghost town. There are a lot of buildings that need to be remodeled,” Mayor Pedro Contreras said, using the abandoned San Juan Hotel as an example. “We’re hoping for a huge, positive change in our downtown, bringing in commercial businesses and creating a family environment.”

Along with the engineering firm, CDS Spillette is also consulting the city in the...

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