by Legislative Media | Jan 20, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Edinburg Mayor Richard García addresses the community on Thursday, January 22, 2015 at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance as he prepares to welcome Gov. Greg Abbott to the city, which was part of a legislative tour organized by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. A year later, Edinburg’s economy continued its strong performances, including reaching $139.5 million in total construction activities in 2015.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
Construction and related building activities in Edinburg totaled more than $139.5 million in value in 2015, almost $20 million ahead of the figure reached in 2014, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. For the month of December 2015, all construction activities totaled more than $11.7 million, also ahead of the pace for the same month in 2014, which came in at almost $7.4 million. The value of construction of new homes during 2015 led all year-to-date categories, amounting to almost $48 million, compared with more than $35.7 million during 2014. 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 most valuable construction project to receive a building permit in December 2015 was a facility, classified as Multi-Family Residences New Construction/Addition/Remodel, valued at $5 million. The facility, whose owner is Edgeware LLC, will be located at 615 South Sugar Rd., Phase II Subdivision. Four single-family residences rounded out the top five most valuable projects issued building permits in December: $ 371,000 – Reynold and Angelien Martínez, 4804 Oxford St., Bentley Estates Subdivision; $ 280,000 – Pin Point Investments LLC, 2522 Terranova Cir., Emerald Pointe Subdivision; $ 260,000 – Pin Point Investments LLC, 2510 Terranova Cir., Emerald Point Ph. 2 Subdivision; and $ 250,000 – Jesús González Clemente, 4806 June Dr., Summerfield Manor Subdivision. Three hundred forty new homes, valued at almost $48 million, led all construction activities in 2015. The top categories in Edinburg during 2015 were: $47,969,918– Single-Family Residences New Construction; $27,756,178 – Commercial New Construction; $24,519,797 – 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); $18,761,863 – Commercial Alterations; $14,314,122 – Multi-Family Residences New Construction; and $6,237,533 – 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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by Legislative Media | Nov 28, 2015 | Politics
Featured: Representing Santa Cruz Properties, located at 2812 North Closner, during its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, October 22, 2015, are, from left: Anna L. Villarreal, Accounting; Lily Almazán, Sales; Carroll Ruppert, wife of Richard “Dick” Ruppert, Founder/Chief Executive Officer; Krys R. Weyand, Chief Financial Officer and daughter of Richard “Dick” Ruppert; Richard “Dick” Ruppert, Founder/Chief Executive Officer; Cathy R. Helgeson, Collections and daughter of Richard “Dick” Ruppert; Ana Vandever, Loan Officer; Frances Garza, Quality Control Officer; and Irma Moreno, Account Manager. Not pictured is Kyle D. Ruppert, Chief Operations Officer and son of Richard “Dick” Ruppert. Richard “Dick” Ruppert is a member of the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation.
Photograph COURTESY ANA VANDEVER
Construction and related building activities in Edinburg through the first 10 months of 2015 reached almost $115 million, with building permits for work valued at more than $14.6 million being issued for the month of November, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. Both of those 2015 figures are ahead of the pace for the same periods last year, when total construction activities from January through October 2014 came in at almost $109.1 million, and more than $5.1 million for October 2014. The value of construction of new homes for the first 10 months of 2015 leads all year-to-date categories, amounting to almost $40 million, compared with almost $30 million from January through October 2014. Two major entities – Bert Ogden Motors and Doctors Hospital at Renaissance – were issued building permits for the most valuable construction projects for October 2015, according to the city’s Code Enforcement Department, according to the EEDC. Bert Ogden Motors is building a facility, located at 4004 S. I-69 Central, valued at $5.6 million, while Doctors Hospital at Renaissances received two separate building permits, valued at $3.8 million and $200,000, for commercial additions/repairs, both at 5501 S. McColl Road. Edinburg MOB Properties LLC also was issued a building permit for commercial additions/repairs, valued at $250,000, for a facility located at 4302 S. Sugar Rd. Ste. 206. In addition, MG Kamel Properties, LTC received a building permit for new commercial construction, valued at $200,000, for a structure at 4351 S. McColl Road. 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. 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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by Legislative Media | Sep 30, 2015 | Politics
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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by Legislative Media | Sep 9, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Agustín García, Jr., Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Councilmember Richard Molina; Mark Iglesias, President, EEDC Board of Directors; and Mayor Richard García, Member, EEDC Board of Directors, in the Edinburg City Council Chambers at Edinburg City Hall on Wednesday, May 13, 2015.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
The combined value of permits issued for construction and related building activities in Edinburg from January through July 2015 totaled more than $78 million, compared with almost $74 million during the same period last year, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. A building permit includes the estimated value of the work, but does not include the price of the lot. 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. 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 Rupert as Members. The latest figures do not include the more than $107 million for new construction projects, approved by the University of Texas System Board of Regents, which are scheduled to begin this year or which have been authorized this year. UT-RGV, formerly known as UT-Pan American, is a state entity, so the city does not issue building permits or include the value of any construction at the university campus in the data put together by Edinburg’s Code Enforcement Department. “On Thursday, May 14, the UT System Board of Regents gave final permission for the release of funding and of design development for a $70 million, 115,000-square-foot addition to the Science Building at UT-RGV in Edinburg, and that facility, which will be the largest on campus, is set to begin construction this December,” said Mayor García. “A few weeks ago, on Wednesday, August 19, the UT System Board of Regents agreed to begin the process that will lead to the construction of a $37.6 million, 77,000-square-foot Interdisciplinary Engineering and Academic Studies Building for the Edinburg campus.” In addition, the UT System Board of Regents on August 19 gave the go-ahead for UT System officials to negotiate the purchase of 53 acres, located at the southeast quadrant of North Sugar Road and West Chapin Street in Edinburg, from Norquest Family Holdings, Ltd., for “future campus expansion”, the mayor noted. EEDC Board President Iglesias said the Edinburg City Council and the EEDC Board of Directors continue to significantly influence the growth of the local economy with their legislative and public policy strategies, such as lobbying the UT System Board of Regents and the Texas Legislature for more state resources for UT-RGV and the UT-RGV School of Medicine in Edinburg. “The EEDC Board of Directors, the Mayor and City Council work as partners, not only with each other, but with our legislative delegations in Austin and Washington, D.C., with our business and community leaders in our city, and especially with our citizens to set high goals and surpass them,” said Iglesias. “With more economic prosperity and investments, such as these incredible advances in higher education, we will continue to see key growth in construction of homes and businesses in Edinburg.” EEDC Executive Director Agustín García, Jr. (no relation to the mayor), said part of Edinburg’s successes is the determination of the elected and appointed leadership in the community to shape state and national policies, on their own or with other regional and statewide groups, for the benefit of the local economy. “Border security, health care, immigration, job creation, they are all important for the city’s prosperity and quality-of-life, and wherever the decisions on such issues are being made that affect us, from the county courthouse to the state and U.S. capitols, we make sure that we are part of the solution,” said the EEDC Executive Director. “That vision and direction come from the EEDC Board of Directors, the Mayor and the Edinburg City Council, who consult with our citizens, and we see the fruits of their labor throughout Edinburg.” From January through July 2015, building permits valued at $78,554,684 were issued by the city, compared with $73,830,585 for the same period in 2014. The top categories in Edinburg from January to July 2015 were: $25,396,282 – Single-Family Residences New Construction; $22,062,622 – Non-Taxable New Alterations (government, religious, but not including UT-RGV) $12,258,728 – Commercial New Construction; $10,011,285 – Commercial Alterations; $4,909,356 – Multi-Family Residences New Construction; and $3,916,411 – Residential Alterations.
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