by Legislative Media | Feb 14, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: City Councilmember David Torres; Raúl Castillo of McAllen, who is an American stage and film actor and playwright known for his roles in Amexicano, Cold Weather, and for his role as Richie Donado Ventura in the HBO series Looking; and Ellie Torres, Secretary/Treasurer for the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. The image was taken during the South Texas International Film Festival on Saturday, August 22, 2015 at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance. On Monday, February 15, 2016, Ellie Torres and the EEDC Board of Directors will hold a public meeting beginning at noon in the Council Chamber at Edinburg City Hall. Also on Monday, February 16, 2016, David Torres, along with the mayor and Edinburg City Council, will have their public meeting, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber of Edinburg City Hall. David and Ellie Torres are husband and wife. Ellie Torres is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Edinburg school district. David Torres was formerly a member of the Board of Trustees for the Edinburg school district.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
The Edinburg Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors and the Edinburg City Council will have their regular public meetings on Monday, February 15, with each governing body scheduled to review and take possible action on pending and potential business-growth projects, the EEDC 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. The EEDC will begin its meeting at noon in the Council Chamber of Edinburg City Hall, while the Mayor and City Council are set to begin their public session at 6 p.m., also in the Council Chamber. Usually, the Mayor and City Council hold their regular meetings on Tuesdays beginning at 6 p.m. Both meetings are broadcast live by the Edinburg Cable Network through Time Warner Cable, and are also available through the city’s website at CityofEdinburg.com On the EEDC’s agenda are key economic development strategies, which are scheduled to be held in executive session (behind closed doors), as allowed by state law. Those executive session items include: Deliberate authorizing the executive director to execute a development agreement with Project Domain; Deliberate authorizing the executive director to amend the development agreement with Burns Brothers, Ltd.; Deliberate authorizing the executive director to enter into an interlocal agreement with the City of Edinburg regarding the city’s soccer park; Deliberate authorizing the executive director to amend the construction agreement with Cantú Construction regarding the city’s soccer park; Deliberate authorizing the executive director to enter into a development agreement with Qube Hotel Group; and Deliberate authorizing the executive director to execute into a drainage easement to Edinburg Plaza, L.L.C. Several of the City Council’s agenda items will deal with potential or ongoing projects that will also lead to economic development and jobs-creation in the city. Those items, which will be considered in executive session, are: Discussion and possible action regarding proposed interlocal agreement between the City of Edinburg and Edinburg Economic Development Corporation for participation in the construction of soccer fields; Discussion and possible action regarding approval of a sales tax reimbursement agreement between the city and Vipers Arena, L.L.C., relating to granting certain sales tax revenues to reimburse Vipers Arena, L.L.C. for certain additional improvements relating to the Bert Ogden Arena Project; and Discussion and possible action regarding legal issues concerning proposed support agreements concerning La Sienna Apartments.
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by Legislative Media | Feb 11, 2016 | Politics
Featured: An illustration of the proposed $150 million Hidalgo County Courthouse which would be built in downtown Edinburg, and, weather permitting, be completed by October 2018.
Graphics Courtesy ERO ARCHITECTS
The City of Edinburg would contribute a total of $30 million towards the construction of a $150 million, six-story Hidalgo County Courthouse, which would reshape and revitalize the city’s historic downtown, under an initial agreement authorized by the Mayor and Edinburg City Council on Monday, February 8, 2016, 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. If all goes as planned, work could begin on the new courthouse before the end of this year, with a completion date of October 2018, weather permitting. The existing courthouse would continue to function while the new facility is being built. The $30 million city contribution would not result in any city property tax rate increase or take funding away from other major city projects, Mayor García said following the joint work session, which began at 2 p.m. at Edinburg City Hall. “After hearing from our financial advisors, I feel very comfortable that we’re in a sound financial situation, where we can contribute to this worthy project, without raising taxes and without it affecting the other projects we have going on around town,” he told the Edinburg Cable Network. The mayor added that Edinburg hasn’t raised city property taxes in 21 years and he doesn’t plan to start raising them now. In addition to Mayor García, Mayor Pro Tem Homer Jasso, Jr., Councilmember Richard Molina, and Councilmember David Torres participated in the event. Councilmember J.R. Betancourt was excused on important business. Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García, Precinct 1 County Commissioner A.C. Cuellar of Weslaco, and Precinct 4 County Commissioner Joseph Palacios of Edinburg represented the commissioners court. Precinct 2 County Commissioner Eduardo “Eddie” Cantú of Pharr and Precinct 3 County Commissioner Joe Flores of Mission were excused on important business. Mayor Richard García and Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García are not related. Final details for the courthouse project, as well as the formal signing of an interlocal agreement setting out the financial contribution by Edinburg, are both scheduled for a joint session on Tuesday, March 8, of the Edinburg City Council and the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court. During the Monday, February 8 joint work session, the city and county leaders reviewed the architectural and financing details provided, respectively, by Eli Ochoa, PE, AIA, who is Partner and Architect with ERO Architects of McAllen, and Noé Hinojosa, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer for Estrada • Hinojosa Investment Bankers of Dallas, which is the city’s financial consultant. “This is a historic moment in our county’s history,” the county judge said in his opening remarks during the joint work session. “We are here today to discuss the possibility of entering into an agreement with the City of Edinburg to properly fund an adequate courthouse to provide safety and security for our constituents, our residents of Hidalgo County.” Edinburg city officials are optimistic that the new courthouse complex is on the right track. Mayor Pro Tem Jasso said key issues relating to the planned courthouse complex have been resolved for him. “From the time we began this, I am really happy with the outcome, with what we have today,” said Jasso. “Eli (Ochoa) has addressed many of our concerns, such as the facade of the building, the landscaping. I am really looking to moving forward.” Councilmember Molina, who also serves on the Edinburg Planning and Zoning Commission, predicted the new courthouse complex will have a beneficial impact that will help businesses located along East University Drive and beyond. “We have been trying to help the east side of Edinburg, and when people see this mammoth building all the way from the expressway (Interstate Highway 69C), it’s going to catch people’s attention,” said Molina. “We are going to have all kinds of businesses go up in the area.”
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by Legislative Media | Feb 7, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Congressman Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, John Sharp, Chancellor, Texas A&M University System, and Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García, on Tuesday, September 15, 2015, at McAllen City Hall to announced plans by Texas A&M University to open a full-fledged campus in northwest McAllen, which includes a portion of the Edinburg school district. On Monday, February 8, 2016, County Judge García and the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court will meet with the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council to discuss the latest plans and financing options for the proposed construction of a new Hidalgo County Courthouse, which would be located in downtown Edinburg.
Photograph Courtesy JULIA BENITEZ SULLIVAN
Plans for a proposed new courthouse will be reviewed on Monday, February 8, 2016 during a joint public session of the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court and the Edinburg City Council set to begin at 2 p.m. at Edinburg City Hall, 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. According to the agenda posting by the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court, the county’s elected leaders will focus on three items: Discussion regarding the County of Hidalgo New Courthouse Project; Presentation by ERO Architects regarding the New County of Hidalgo Courthouse; and Discussion, consideration and action on Memorandum of Understanding between County of Hidalgo regarding financial contribution for Courthouse Project. The city’s agenda is similar, stating that in addition to being present for the county commissioners’ court stated scheduled actions, the Mayor and Edinburg City Council will review, both in open and closed (executive) sessions, the Memorandum of Understanding regarding financial contribution for the proposed courthouse. The meeting, which is open to the public, comes a little more than six months after a similar gathering, when on Tuesday, July 28, 2015, both governing bodies held a joint workshop to review the schematic designs for the new courthouse, according to a county news release on the event According to the county news release, the following highlights of the July 28, 2015 meeting took place: Presented by ERO Architects and the firm’s judicial consultants, the new courthouse would “remain on the same existing courthouse square and serve as a catalyst for downtown economic development, while providing increased governmental services in an accessible, highly secure, 21st century judicial facility.” County Judge García and Edinburg Mayor García assured the public that the cost of the new courthouse will come from available resources and not from raising taxes. “Neither public body (the City of Edinburg or County of Hidalgo) is going to need to raise their tax rate to fund this project,” said Judge García. The county judge and Edinburg mayor are not related. Initial designs by ERO Architects placed the cost of a new courthouse upwards of $200 million and at more than 472,000 sq. ft. After seeing the proposed plans, the county hired a third party architect to conduct a peer review. The review recommended changes that would save the county $50 million. ERO took the recommendations and redesigned the building cutting 150,000 sq. ft. and reducing the cost to an estimated $149 million.
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by Legislative Media | Jan 31, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Edinburg Mayor Richard García; Congresman Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes; Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos; Mario Lizcano, Director of Corporate Affairs, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance; Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen; and Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg. The delegation was present at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance on Thursday, January 21, 2016, for the public affairs luncheon sponsored by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce and the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
Edinburg posted the second-lowest unemployment figure among the Valley’s major communities for the month of December 2015, coming in at 4.7 percent, with McAllen posting the best figure at 4.4 percent, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. For the year, Edinburg registered the lowest monthly unemployment rates in the Valley three times, and generated the second-lowest unemployment figures in the Valley nine times. The unemployment rate is a key indicator of the strength of the local economy. 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. In addition to Edinburg posting the second-lowest unemployment rate in the Valley for December 2015, Edinburg had the lowest monthly unemployment rate in the Valley in November (4.8 percent), and tied with McAllen for the best showings in October and September (4.9 percent for each month). During the first eight months of 2015, Edinburg’s monthly unemployment rates were within fractions of a percentage of McAllen’s monthly unemployment rates, which were lowest during that period. Also according to the latest data, which was released on Friday, January 22, 2016 by the Texas Workforce Commission, there were 35,717 people employed in Edinburg during the month of December 2015. Edinburg’s latest showing was better than the U.S. unemployment rate for December 2015, which came in at 5 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000). Edinburg’s December 2015 figure of 4.7 percent completes a year-long pattern of positive reports: November (4.8 percent); October (4.9 percent); September (4.9 percent); August (5.1 percent); July (5.4 percent); June (5.1 percent); May (4.8 percent); April (4.6 percent); March (4.8 percent); February (4.8 percent); and January (5.1 percent). Edinburg’s December 2015 unemployment rate of 4.7 percent remained close to the Texas statewide average, which was 4.2 percent in December, 4.5 percent in November, 4.5 percent in October, 4.4 percent in September, 4.4 percent in August, 4.6 percent in July, 4.4 percent in June, 4.1 percent in May, 4 percent in April, 4.2 percent in March, 4.3 percent in February, and 4.6 percent in January, according to Texas Workforce Commission figures. The data represents a decrease of 170 jobs in Edinburg when comparing the employment figures for December 2015 and December 2014. In December 2015, there were 35,717 employed in Edinburg, compared with 35,887 persons employed in Edinburg in December 2014. The December 2015 unemployment rate of 4.7 percent for Edinburg is also better than the annual unemployment rate in Edinburg for 2014, which was 5.8 percent – and that yearly rate was the best 12-month average from January through December since 2008. Edinburg’s annual unemployment rates since 2005, which is the year in which the state government began preparing those figures using a more accurate formula, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, have registered as follows: 2014 (5.8 percent); 2013 (6.9 percent); 2012 (7.5 percent); 2011 (8.4 percent); 2010 (8.2 percent); 2009 (6.8 percent); 2008 (4.9 percent); 2007 (4.7 percent); 2006 (5.2 percent); and 2005 (4.9 percent).
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by Legislative Media | Jan 30, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Rendition of the planned Resaca Market, a major retail and entertainment complex, complete with a hotel, to be located by U.S. Expressway 281/169C and Monte Cristo Road, three miles north of downtown Edinburg. The Resaca Market will feature 500,000 square feet of retail, restaurants, hotel, shopping, entertainment, movie theaters, and more.
Graphics Courtesy of BURNS BROTHERS, LTD.
A hotel and movie theater with a combined value of more than $10 million are under negotiations for the privately-owned and planned 500,000 square-foot Resaca Market retail and entertainment complex in north Edinburg, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. In addition, a third residential subdivision in the upscale La Sienna community – which neighbors the 60-acre Resaca Market site – is approaching final approval from the city to begin construction. The updates about the 726-acre La Sienna Master Planned Community and Resaca Market, which represent the grand vision of Burns Brothers, LTD of Edinburg, came on Tuesday, January 26, 2016, during the public meeting of the EEDC Board of Directors. Todd Gilliland, Project Director of La Sienna, provided the latest news on La Sienna and Resaca Market to the EEDC leadership, which was meeting in the Council Chambers of Edinburg City Hall. 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. Agustín García, Jr. and Mayor Richard García are not related. La Sienna is located along U.S. Highway 281/I69C near Davis Road and Resaca Market is located along U.S. Highway 281/I69C near Monte Cristo Road. Following his presentation during the public portion of the EEDC board meeting, Gilliland provided additional details to journalists who were in attendance. Reporting on what already has taken place at La Sienna and what is in the works for La Sienna and Resaca Market, he expressed optimism that big things will continue to take place for Edinburg which will boost economic development, job growth, and tourism. “I think when the announcements (on the hotel and movie theater) are made, assuming it all comes together, it will be very exciting and (La Sienna and Resaca Market) becomes a true destination,” said Gilliland, crediting Kent Burns of Burns Brothers, LTD of Edinburg with helping promote the family’s inspiration for the ambitious commercial and residential undertakings. “We are not looking to copy what anybody else has done,” Gilliland emphasized. “We are following an idea of creating something different and exciting like everybody talks about but it’s very challenging to put the pieces together.” Regarding Resaca Market, he made it clear that, as in the case of the residential La Sienna, all goals are legitimate and well-thought out. “What we really strive to do is not hype something that is unattainable,” Gilliland emphasized. “That is never our intention. We’d rather work the deals and get them going and make the announcements, rather than promise something that is very difficult to bring about.” Around late spring 2016, movement should accelerate on the hotel/movie theater plans, he predicted. “We would like to see things really start clicking within 90 days,” he said of those two building projects, which will then bring in more retail firms, even residential housing, targeting consumers with money to spend and invest in Edinburg. “Part of Resaca Market is not just commercial shopping and restaurants and hotels and theaters. It’s condominiums and apartments, more of the high-end than you would typically see,” Gilliland explained. “That brings you into the level of having a destination where people will perhaps stop or perhaps come in from Monterrey and want to locate out there.” Tapping into consumers from northern Mexico, specifically Monterrey, which is Mexico’s ninth-largest metropolis with a population of more than one million, is part of the Resaca Market/La Sienna growth strategies, he said. “We know that a tremendous amount of our financial growth comes from Monterrey,” Gilliland said of that economic powerhouse, which is the second-wealthiest city in Mexico and located 140 miles south of Edinburg. “We have some designers who are very familiar, who do business there and who have lived there. We are trying to offer those people an alternative to other places that are overbuilt and very congested at the moment.” Resaca Market has the potential to generate as much as $5 million a year in local sales tax revenue for key public services – additional money that can be used by the Edinburg City Council and EEDC for a wide range of its duties, from public safety, infrastructure improvements and youth programs to economic development and job-creation efforts. The EEDC estimates that once Resaca Market reaches completion, its presence could bring in as much as $300 million a year into the city’s economy.
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