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Santana Textiles, Annova LNG Gas, and Edinburg School District to make presentations before the EEDC Board of Directors on Tuesday, October 27

Staff members with the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation

Featured: Staff members with the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation during October 2015 wore pink attire to show their support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. From left are Diego Reyna, Research Analyst; Dalila Razo, Business Manager; Laura Vela, Administrative Assistant; Nelda Ramírez, Assistant Executive Director; and Agustín García, Jr., Executive Director.
Photograph Coordinated By DIEGO REYNA

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer and second most common cause of cancer-related death among Texas women, the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court announced on Tuesday, October 6. But it’s also important to note that breast cancer doesn’t only affect women, according to the American Cancer Society, which adds that about one in 1,000 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in his lifetime. This month-long observance, held every October, is dedicated to educating the public about breast cancer, preventative measures, and the importance of early detection. As the month approaches its final days, the EEDC Board of Directors is scheduled to hold its regular public meeting, which will take place at Edinburg City Hall, located at 415 West University Drive, on Tuesday, October 27, beginning at 1 p.m. Among its agenda will be presentations by Santana Textiles, LLC, Annova LNG Gas, and the Edinburg School District. The session, which is open to the public, also will be broadcast live and videotaped on the Edinburg Cable Network, which is available on Time Warner Cable Channel 17, and accessible on the Internet through the Edinburg Cable Network. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. Richard García and Agustín García, Jr. are not related.

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Total construction in Edinburg from January through September 2015 breaks $100 million mark, with 257 new homes leading the way

Edinburg Plannning and Zoning Molina

Featured: Edinburg City Councilmember Richard Molina, addressing constituents at the Edinburg City Auditorium on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, also serves on Edinburg’s Planning and Zoning Commission, which reviews and make recommendations to the City Council on rezoning, special use permits, and subdivisions.
Photograph By MARK MONTE MAYOR

Residential subdivisions in Edinburg are experiencing significant growth in 2015, with the construction of 257 new homes leading the way from January through September of this year. In all, construction and related building activities in Edinburg from January through September 2015 total more than $100 million, with building permits for those 257 new single-family residences valued at more than $37.1 million leading the way, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. Richard García and Agustín García, Jr. are not related. From January through September 2015, building permits valued at $100,045,966 were issued by the city, compared with $103,901,996 for the same period in 2014. For the month of September 2015, building permits valued at $14,230,592 were issued, compared with building permits valued at $9,863,971 for September 2014. The top categories in Edinburg from January through September 2015 were: $37,102,917 – Single-Family Residences New Construction; $23,765.605 – Non-Taxable New/Alterations (government, religious, but not including the value of construction activities at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley or its School of Medicine); $15,875,178 – Commercial New Construction; $13,227,202 – Commercial Alterations; $5,365,356 – Multi-Family Residences New Construction; and $4,709,708 – Residential Alterations. A building permit includes the estimated value of the work, but does not include the costs of the lot, equipment and furnishings. In general, a building permit is legal permission given by the City of Edinburg to erect, construct, renovate, maintain, or conduct any other specified activity on any building or structure, or on any installations or facilities therein. The term “building permit” includes but is not limited to building permits, electrical permits, mechanical permits, and plumbing permits.

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Day Surgery at Renaissance opens for business as Edinburg approaches $86 million in construction activities from January through August 2015

Mayor Richard García

Featured, Mayor Richard García, who also serves on the Board of Directors for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, on Wednesday, May 13, 2015, signs documents relating to Edinburg municipal business as Myra L. Ayala Garza, City Secretary, reviews his action at the raised platform used for city council, EEDC and Planning and Zoning board meetings. Those public sessions are held in the council chambers at Edinburg City Hall.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

With construction and related building activities in Edinburg from January through August 2015 totaling almost $86 million, area leaders on Thursday, September 17, gathered at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance to celebrate the grand opening of the city’s latest architectural showpiece – Day Surgery at Renaissance. Day Surgery at Renaissance, located at 5520 Leonardo Davinci, immediately east of Women’s Hospital at Renaissance, is a 90,000 square foot, two-story outpatient surgical center that features eight operating rooms, 40 pre-operative beds, 40 recovery beds, and 10 endoscopy suites. Day Surgery at Renaissance, based on the building permit issued more than a year earlier, in August 2014, by Edinburg’s Code Enforcement Department, represents an investment of $14 million for its construction. As a result, the value of Day Surgery at Renaissance is not included in the year-t0-date total construction figures of almost $86 million for January through August 2015. Ellie M. Torres, who serves on the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, and who also is a member of the Edinburg school board, was on hand for the 2 p.m. standing-room only event. “This outstanding facility will have significant economic and quality-of-life benefits for our hometown and our neighboring cities,” said Torres. “Along with our other excellent hospitals, physicians, health care professionals, and our University of Texas medical school that will open in the Fall of 2016, Edinburg continues to build on its deserved reputation as a preferred city in which to live, raise a family, work or own a business, and succeed.” The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. Richard García and Agustín García, Jr. are not related. Mayor Richard García noted that Edinburg is blessed with nationally-recognized hospital systems. “In mid-July, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance and South Texas Health Systems, which includes Edinburg Regional Medical Center and Edinburg Children’s Hospital, were ranked among the top 20 hospital complexes in Texas, according to U.S. News and World Report,” Mayor García said. “Across-the-board, from education to health care, from entertainment to construction, these and other economic development advances continue to lead to new jobs and stronger businesses.” EEDC Board President Iglesias said the city’s construction activities so far this year also reflect strong growth in new homes. “From January through August 2015, Edinburg has seen 223 new single-family homes, valued at more than $31 million, authorized to be built – including 41 homes approved for construction during the month of August alone,” Iglesias reported. “During the same eight months in 2014, there were 199 homes, valued at more than $23.8 million, issued building permits. Those statistics and more reflect the overall strength and consumer confidence that speak volumes about our city’s economy.” EEDC Executive Director Agustín García, Jr. added that Edinburg also benefits from another DHR complex, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Family Medical Center, literally located across Owassa Road but in the city limits of McAllen, which was part of the September 17 ribbon-cutting ceremony for Day Surgery at Renaissance. “As a direct result of state legislation passed in 2013, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley was given the authority and resources to build a full-fledged School of Medicine, with a major presence in Edinburg,” said the EEDC executive director. “But in helping shape the creation of the School of Medicine, the Edinburg mayor, Edinburg City Council, and EEDC Board of Directors always took a regional approach in order for the Valley to stay united and strong in order to make the medical school a reality. “That is what the UTRGV Family Medical Center symbolizes, and Edinburg also benefits as a result.” The Family Medicine Center will serve as a physician training center for family medicine medical residents. That newly-constructed facility will serve as a base for integrated programs of health care and education that are built around a team approach to cover a spectrum of health services, including prevention and treatment.

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Change is positive, says City Manager Ramiro Garza, Jr., who assures citizens that many of Edinburg’s successes result from the leadership of the Mayor, City Council, EEDC Board of Directors

Change is positive, says City Manager Ramiro Garza, Jr., who assures citizens that many of Edinburg’s successes result from the leadership of the Mayor, City Council, EEDC Board of Directors

From left: Agustín García, Jr., Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Edinburg City Manager Ramiro Garza, Jr; City Councilmember J.R. Bentancourt; Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; Councilmember Richard Molina; Víctor G. Guerra, General Counsel, Pathfinder Public Affairs; Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen; and Jesse Ozuna, Chief Administrator, Precinct 4 County Commissioner Joseph Palacios. These South Texas leaders met in advance of a legislative reception recognizing Tuesday, February 10, 2015 as Rio Grande Valley Day at the Texas Capitol.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA

The recent announcement by longtime Edinburg city manager Ramiro Garza, Jr. that he will end his public career with the City of Edinburg at the end of December 2015 may have caught area residents by surprise. After all, during what will wind up being an almost 16-year tenure as one of the city’s top appointed leaders, Garza, 41, has been a key and visible figure in the social and economic development of Edinburg. The Port Isabel native, with academic pedigrees that include a Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance and a Master of Business Administration, Business Administration and Management, General, both from the University of Texas at Brownsville, first came to Edinburg in September 2000 to take the reigns as executive director for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr., is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. Following a successful nine years, three months on the job with the EEDC, Garza, now married with children, was tapped as the city manager for Edinburg in November 2009. With the exception of a six-month leave-of-absence from December 2011 to May 2012 for his first entry into seeking elected office (for Congress, no less), Garza has been the leader of the 700-member city staff, which helps him manage the city’s $100 million annual operational budget. Garza said he was humbled and appreciative for the show of confidence over the years from the mayor and city council. “I am very, very grateful. It has been such an honor and a privilege to serve on the EEDC and then as city manager. When you have that kind of support, it is incomparable. It allows you to go out there and do all you can to help improve the city,” Garza said. “I or any of our staffs would not be able to do what we do without their unwavering support. They set the policies, they have high expectations. Throughout the different administrations, they have been great leaders.” Ever the diplomat, Garza saved high praise for the city and its residents who have helped him succeed. “Edinburg is a very welcoming community. I was made to feel like I was part of the families here, and it allowed me to work with some fine individuals over the course of the past 15 years,” Garza said. “The same open arms that I received, that is how other people are received in Edinburg. You see that with new residents, new businesses, they are made to feel part of the community. Those are some of the reflections I have of Edinburg.” Garza hopes that his successor will enjoy the same blessings that have highlighted Garza’s role as one of the longest-serving city manager’s in Edinburg history. “There is this hunger in Edinburg to bring new opportunities, more shopping, more restaurants, industrial development. It shows in what has happened in the past two years. Over the past 10 years, our assessed values have grown over the last decade. There has been been more than one million square feet of new retail in Edinburg, hundreds of new homes where people can have choices on where to live,” Garzas said. “I was very lucky to have been part of that.” As for offering any advice to his successor, Garza said the best is yet to come. “Edinburg is at the cusp of undergoing another period of important growth, with the new university and the new medical school. There are still challenges of not being able to improve the community in every way we would like to. It’s about building on the strong momentum that we have,” Garza said. “Whoever is going to come in, have an open mind, and roll up their sleeves and work hard with the elected leadership, and anything can be done.”

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Edinburg retail economy shows almost 6 percent increase from January through July compared with same period in 2014; local improvement rate ahead of statewide 4.8 percent average of all cities

South Texas International Film Festival

Featured, front row, from left: Francis Whitworth, Edinburg Arts Foundation Board; Tony Casas, Cultural Activities Board; Edna Peña, Edinburg Arts Foundation Board, Cultural Activities Board; Letty Reyes, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, Edinburg Arts Foundation Board, South Texas International Film Festival Board; Letty Leija, Director of Library & Cultural Arts, South Texas International Film Festival Board; Cynthia Sarmiento, CineSol Film Festival; Kim LeBlanc, Production Consultant, Texas Film Commission, Office of the Governor; and Magdiel Alfonso, Edinburg Arts Foundation Event Coordinator, South Texas International Film Festival Board. Back row, from left: Henry Serrato, CineSol Film Festival; Jonathan Torres, Edinburg Arts Foundation Board, South Texas International Film Festival Board; and Luis Enrique Suñer, El Mañana, South Texas International Film Festival Board. This image was taken on Saturday, August 22, at the awards ceremony, held at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, for the South Texas International Film Festival.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

Edinburg’s retail economy from January through July 2015 is almost six percent ahead of the same period last year, a figure that is better than the statewide average of all Texas cities, which came in with a 4.8 percent improvement year-to-date, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. For the month of July 2015, the city’s retail economy registered a four percent rate of improvement over the same month last year, the EEDC added, according to data released on Thursday, September 10, by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. For the first seven months of 2015, Edinburg’s retail economy has produced $15,140,562.15 in local sales taxes, compared with $14,285,511.68 for January through July 2014, representing an improvement of 5.98 percent. During July 2015, the city’s retail economy generated $1,549,113.91 in local sales taxes, compared with $1,489,519.36 for July 2014, also according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The local sales tax is used in Edinburg to help pay for many city services, while the EEDC uses its one-half cent local sales tax to help generate economic development in the city, said Agustin García, Jr., Executive Director for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. The amount of local sales taxes collected also helps reflect the strength of an economy, along with construction activities, per capita income, education, historical performances, and related trends, García explained. “Any retail economy is measured by consumer spending patterns for goods and services, such as for consumer durables, which are goods that usually last more than three years, and consumer nondurables, which usually last less than three years,” the EEDC Executive Director noted. “But there are other key factors, such as entertainment venues, which also bring in money into our community, and Edinburg is also leader in those events.” On Friday, August 21, and Saturday, August 22, the inaugural South Texas International Film Festival, which included EEDC as one of the sponsors and organizers, was showcased as an example of high-quality and cutting-edge industries being positioned to help the local economy, said Mayor Richard García, who serves on the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. Mayor García and EEDC Executive Director Agustín García, Jr. are not related. “In hosting the South Texas International Film Festival, we are creating a home to the film arts in our region, and in doing so, proudly displayed the tremendous homegrown talent we have in our region,” noted the mayor. “During this tremendous gathering, we provided the educational courses, know-how, and generated the business connections to foster creativity in our local film industry, which can help our economy continue to flourish and diversify.” Mayor García and Board President Iglesias praised the work of Edinburg area residents who worked diligently to pull of a very successful film festival, notably the EEDC, the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, the City of Edinburg, Edinburg Arts, and the Consulado de México en McAllen (Mexican Consulate in McAllen). Iglesias noted how the City of Austin has helped its economy prosper through entertainment venues, specifically its now famous South by Southwest Music Festival, which has become the largest music festival of its kind in the world. “According to a 2014 economic impact study by Greyhill Advisors, the economic impact of the South by Southwest Music Festival, which also includes film components, totaled $315.3 million in 2014,” said Iglesias. “First organized in 1987, the South by Southwest Music Festival has had an economic impact on it’s hometown over the past five years of more than $1 billion. These are the high standards by which we in Edinburg set our goals.” The mayor agreed. “For several generations, we in South Texas have worked for a medical school, and by the Fall of 2016, we will be finally opening the doors to a UT School of Medicine, including a major presence here in Edinburg,” said Mayor García. “What that shows everyone is all good things are possible for our region. All it takes is determination and hard work, and the South Texas International Film Festival is the latest example of the vision of our people.” The mayor, along with the Edinburg City Council and EEDC Board of Directors, were influential in the passage of state legislation in 2013 that resulted in the creation of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, which includes a $54 million Medical Academic Building now under construction in Edinburg. Occupying more than 88,000 square feet, the new Medical Academic Building will be a teaching facility that promotes faculty and student interaction at the beginning stages of medical school, according to the UT System. The building will include an auditorium, digital library, clinical skills center, pre-clinical laboratories and an anatomy teaching facility. Multiple small classrooms, seminar rooms and other features will offer opportunities for small group problem solving and inter-professional educational experiences.

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Titans of the Texas Legislature