by Legislative Media | Jun 13, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Agustín “Gus” García, Jr., Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Mark Iglesias, Vice President, EEDC Board of Directors; Mayor Richard H. García, who also serves as President of the EEDC Board of Directors; Harvey Rodríguez, Treasurer, EEDC Board of Directors; and Rolando “Ronnie” Guerra, Sr., Secretary, EEDC Board of Directors, following the State of the City Address by the mayor on Wednesday, May 27 at the Edinburg City Auditorium. Richard W. Ruppert, who rounds out the five-member EEDC Board of Directors, was appointed by the Edinburg City Council in early June and thus not included in this portrait.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA
Edinburg’s retail economy for the month of April 2015 was 4.45 percent better than the same month last year, generating $1,582,767.61 in local sales taxes, compared with $1,515,235.89 in April 2014, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The EEDC, led by Executive Director Agustín “Gus” García, Jr., is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. This latest showing is the second-best among all of the Valley’s major cities for April 2015, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, which on Wednesday, June 10, released statewide figures, which represents the most up-to-date figures information for that state agency. Edinburg’s rate of improvement also is better than the average of all city economies in the state, which combined showed an increase of 1.2 percent when comparing April 2015 with the same month last year, the state comptroller’s office also reported. Year-to-date, the Edinburg economy is 6.72 percent ahead of 2014, having produced $10,186,165.26 from January through April 2015 in local sales taxes, compared with $9,544,069.69 during the same period last year. Mayor Richard García (no relation to Gus García, Jr.), who is President of the EEDC Board of Directors, explained that the amount of local sales taxes collected helps reflect the strength of an economy, along with construction activities, per capita income, education, historical performances, and related trends. “The EEDC is pleased to report that additional hotels, restaurants and quality-of-life projects are currently in negotiations, and we will have many more announcements to come later this year,” the mayor said during his State of the City Address on Wednesday, May 27. “All these projects will add to the city’s sales tax collection, allowing us to do more for our community, because every penny we get goes right back into ongoing and needed projects through the city.” Throughout Edinburg, the Edinburg City Council and EEDC Board of Directors continue putting in play sweeping plans to keep the local retail economy in an upward swing, including a major project involving mass transit. That vision “will bring us a multi-use transit facility that will be the first-of-its-kind in Edinburg,” Mayor García reported. “The architectural design has been approved, so we anticipate it will move rapidly.” Working with the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council, the Edinburg City Council and the EEDC secured a $2.7 million federal grant to build that 35,000 square-foot complex, which will be located between West University Drive and 6th Street, which will link Edinburg City Hall and The University of Texas-Pan American (which will be renamed UT-Rio Grande Valley beginning for the Fall 2015 semester). “Once complete, the facility will serve as home to Valley Metro, which is the city’s transit provider, and combine public and private transit service with office space, restaurants, and a potential rail line, as well as parking levels, bringing traffic and life closer to our town square after 5 p.m.,” the mayor said. The multi-use transit facility is part of the dramatic transformation of McIntyre Street, known as “Las Ramblas: Paseo Cultural”, which designates the renovated pedestrian-oriented pathway that links the cultural, retail, educational and governmental landmarks in and near the city’s downtown square. “Las Ramblas: Paseo Cultural is now open and thousands of people have been enjoying it while attending one of the many art and cultural events and festivals that have been held there, such as Jardín de Arte, Festiva, Trio Tardeada, Tree Lighting, Cinco de Mayo, to name a few,” the mayor added. EEDC Executive Director Gus García, Jr. said the transit facility “sets the future in motion by allowing people to use mass transportation so they can save those dollars, get a good paying job, education, and move up. People can have transportation to get here, and then just walk to City Hall. We are going to have stores and shops to promote walkability.”
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by Legislative Media | Jun 6, 2015 | Politics
Featured: Some of the latest high-technology used by Santana Textiles that has helped it become one of the world leaders in the manufacture and development of different and innovative denim fabrics. Santana Textiles’ vertically integrated production process includes R&D, spinning, dyeing, weaving and finishing. The principal manufacturing plants include modern, automated and integrated yarn spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing facilities. Santana Textiles can produce approximately 100 million meters of denim fabrics annually.
Photograph Courtesy SANTANA TEXTILES
Santana Textiles, a world leader in the manufacture and development of different and innovative denim fabrics, will be hosting a job fair on Wednesday, June 17, at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, with a goal of hiring up to 300 employees for its upcoming start-up operations, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The EEDC is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg City Council. Santana Textiles, based in Brazil, along with the EEDC and Workforce Solutions, are sponsoring the event, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The job fair at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, which is located at 118 Paseo Del Prado by the Doctors Hospital at Renaissance complex in the southwest part of the city, is free and open to the public. “We are happy to share the long-anticipated and very welcomed update that Santana Textiles will complete construction and begin their spinning operations this summer,” Mayor Richard García, who also serves as President of the five-member EEDC Board of Directors, revealed during his State of the City Address, which he delivered on Thursday, May 21, at the Edinburg City Auditorium. “This is just the beginning,” the mayor added. “Over the next few years, we anticipate 800 employees will eventually be on payroll at Santana Textiles when they reach their full capacity here in Edinburg. The additional economic impact of that workforce will create more than 3,000 indirect jobs, not to mention the investment for the facilities and equipment by Santana Textiles.” The estimated total financial economic impact of the new manufacturing conglomerate in Edinburg will be about $180 million, and reflects the EEDC’s and city council’s successful strategies to bring new employers to the community, the mayor said. According to the company, Santana Textiles is seeking energetic, self-motivated, and safety-oriented individuals for entry-level industrial maintenance technicians to highly experienced personnel. Duties will vary based on job description from basic knowledge of hand and power tools to experienced technicians with knowledge of electronics, PLC, automation, and testing equipment. “This job fair will focus in hiring individuals in the positions for the following areas: production, logistics, supervision, maintenance, environmental health and safety, security guards, and accounting, among others,” said Janette García, Human Resources Coordinator for the local Santana Textiles complex. Interested individuals will also have the opportunity to apply online, she added, by logging on to http://www.SantanaTextiles.com, and clicking “Careers”. She also can provide more information for interested applicants by contacting her through [email protected] or by calling her at 956/618-0097: ext: 8008. More than seven million meters per month of different basic denim fabrics are manufactured by the brands Santana Textiles, Loco Serious Denim and BEM – Bi-Elastic Movement. “The Santana Textiles manufacturing plant is located on a 33-acre site which is part of Edinburg’s 150-acre North Industrial Park, which is next to Interstate 69 Central, about three miles south of the South Texas International Airport at Edinburg, which makes it accessible to both ground and air transportation,” the mayor emphasized. “The North Industrial Park was formerly agricultural property which was purchased by the EEDC more than a dozen years ago, with the goal of bringing new businesses or helping existing companies expand in Edinburg. It has proven to be a very wise investment for our community.”
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by Legislative Media | Jun 4, 2015 | Politics
Four new members of the Board of Directors for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation are now bringing their vision and considerable skills to one of the most influential public bodies in deep South Texas, Mayor Richard H. García has announced. García also serves as President of the five-member governing board for the EEDC, which is the jobs-creation arm for the Mayor and Edinburg City Council. Under the bylaws of the EEDC, the Mayor is always President of the EEDC Board of Directors, while the four other members of that leadership group are appointed by the mayor and city council. Rolando “Ronnie” Guerra, Sr., Broker/Dealer with Voya Financial Advisors, Mark Iglesias, Environmental Manager at S&B Infrastructure, Ltd., and Harvey Rodríguez, South Texas Operations Manager with CAS Companies, LP, were selected by the mayor and city council on Thursday, May 21. On Tuesday, June 2, Richard W. Ruppert, owner of Santa Cruz Land Sales, became the fourth new appointee to the EEDC Board of Directors, following the required approval of the mayor and city council, and setting into motion the most recent team of EEDC board members to their respective two-year terms. “I congratulate these outstanding community leaders who have agreed to serve our city as Edinburg continues this incredible journey of landmark advances and proven progress,” said García. “But I also want to thank our immediate past board members, whose legacies will feature helping make Edinburg one of the best cities in Texas in which to live, work, and play.” Business leader Fred Palacios, Dr. Havidan Rodríguez, the President Ad Interim for The University of Texas-Pan American, prominent attorney Felipe García, and Steven Cruz, II, Director of Operations for Precinct 4 County Commissioner Joseph Palacios, are coming off very successful terms on the EEDC Board of Directors, the mayor noted. “From our legislative efforts that have helped result in the completed and ongoing construction of the $42.7 million Performing Arts Complex, the $54 million Medical Education Building, and the $70 million Science Building at the University of Texas-Pan American to the upcoming construction of the $68 million Bert Ogden Arena – and many other very important achievements – Fred Palacios, Havidán Rodríguez, Felipe García, and Steven Cruz, II, under the leadership of the Edinburg City Council, have made a tremendous positive impact on our hometown,” the mayor said. “Now come Rolando “Ronnie” Guerra, Sr., Mark Iglesias, Harvey Rodríguez, and Richard Richard W. Ruppert, who surely will add their distinguished names as the latest architects of Edinburg’s great and immediate future,” García predicted with pride and confidence. “They will bring honor to themselves and their families through this public service, and that is why they were chosen to serve our community.”
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by Legislative Media | Apr 15, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen; Dr. Francisco Fernández, Founding Dean, The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine; Mayor Richard García, who also serves as President of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors; and Richard Molina, Edinburg City Councilmember, at the UT-Pan American Ballroom on Wednesday, February 26, 2014.
Photograph By PEDRO PÉREZ, IV
Almost 10 years after the Texas Legislature first authorized the financing for its creation, the $42.7 million, 1,000-seat Performing Arts Complex at The University of Texas-Pan American will host thousands of area residents during a Thursday, April 23 debut with a Grande Premiere Concert, beginning at 7:30 p.m. (UT-Pan American will be renamed The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley in the fall.) UTPA and UT-RGV leaders are pulling out all the stops to showcase what will be a showpiece among the Valley’s increasing number of impressive centers for musical performances, sports events, and other major gatherings. The State Farm Arena in Hidalgo and the McAllen Convention Center – both publicly-owned entertainment facilities that can serve thousands of patrons per event – now share center stage with the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, the Bert Ogden Arena, set to begin construction in Edinburg, and now, the Performing Arts Complex that will serve as the heart of the local University of Texas System campus. UTPA officials on Tuesday, April 14, announced that in order to celebrate the highly anticipated grand opening of the state-of-the-art facility, they have planned a spectacular evening of the arts, starting at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, and featuring performances by faculty and student artists from UTPA and The University of Texas at Brownsville. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the Grand Premiere Concert, and the public is invited to be part of the free festivities. For more information or if special accommodations are needed to attend the concert, call (956) 665-5301. Mayor Richard García, who also serves as President of the EEDC’s five-member Board of Directors, said the emergence of the Performing Arts Complex will have profound and long-lasting effects on the city council’s and EEDC’s vision for downtown revitalization. “It fits in with our master plan for cultural development for our city,” the mayor said. “With the $42.7 million Performing Arts Complex, as well as the coming construction of the $68 million city-owned Bert Ogden Arena, along with the $54 million UT-RGV School of Medicine’s Medical Academic Building now under construction, and a $70 million UT-RGV science building annex approved to be built on campus, we are making our hometown the center for high-quality, family entertainment venues and educational excellence that not only improve our quality of life, but make it that much more attractive for businesses to expand and locate in our city, and with it, create more jobs and economic prosperity. García also praised the Valley’s state legislative delegation for securing more than $30 million earlier in April for a new engineering building at UT-RGV in Edinburg, a tremendous funding boost that could result in the planned development of a $50 million complex. García, who has built a statewide reputation as a leader who always shares the credit with others on major successes, said he wants one person in particular to be forever linked to the Performing Arts Complex. “We wanted this facility badly, we needed this facility badly, and the big hero on that is Sen. (Juan ‘Chuy’) Hinojosa (D-McAllen),” the mayor said. “I would love to see that facility be named after him. I have told him that in the past, and I will lead that charge because he was largely responsible for the state funding, and fighting to keep that money for the Performing Arts C0mplex.” Hinojosa was the driving force in the spring of 2006, when the Texas Legislature was at work during a special session at the State Capitol. “He was the principal legislative architect who made the state financing possible for this landmark project,” García recalled. “He successfully attached an amendment to a statewide tuition revenue bond bill. His effective move provided the needed financing mechanisms to pay for the Performing Arts Complex, which represents one of the largest infusions of financial resources by the state for new construction at UT-RGV.” Hinojosa emphasized the positive impact of the Performing Arts Complex. “This facility will attract supporters of the arts, quality performers and outside visitors. These benefits will also radiate into the community in other ways,” said Hinojosa. “I am confident the Performing Arts Complex will be top-notch, and it will bolster the local economy by attracting jobs and investment, and enrich the cultural life of the Rio Grande Valley. Investments like these are particularly beneficial because they help boost UT-RGV’s profile in the region.”
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by Legislative Media | Apr 9, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Agustín “Gus” García, Jr., Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Ramiro Garza, Jr., Edinburg City Manager; and Edinburg City Councilmember Richard Molina, in the Gallery of the Texas House of Representatives on Tuesday, February 10 for Rio Grande Valley Day at the State Capitol.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA
Edinburg’s retail economy for the month of February 2015 was 14.38 percent better than the same month last year, generating $1,560,490.17 in local sales taxes, compared with $1,364,200.96 in February 2014, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The EEDC is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg City Council. That showing was the best among all of the Valley’s major cities for February 2015, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, which on Wednesday, April 8, released statewide figures, which represents the most up-to-date figures information for that state agency. Edinburg’s almost 15 percent improvement also was significantly higher than the average of all city economies in the state, which combined showed an improvement of 3.3 percent when comparing February 2015 with the same month last year, the state comptroller’s office also reported. The amount of local sales taxes collected helps reflect the strength of an economy, along with construction activities, per capita income, education, historical performances, and related trends. Year-to-date, the Edinburg economy is 6.40 percent ahead of 2014, having produced $6,677,232.04 in local sales taxes in 2015, compared with $6,275,246.74 during the same period last year. The local sales tax figures represent sales reported by monthly tax filers for February 2015, sent to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in March, and returned as sales tax rebates to the respective local government entities in April. 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. Fitch Ratings, Inc., a global credit conglomerate which rates economies on their strengths and weaknesses for national and international businesses and investors, in early March gave independent and positive views on Edinburg’s economy. On March 4, the New York-based credit rating agency provided its public analyses of Edinburg’s economy and financial activities of the city government and the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. Among its key findings: Because of its position near the Mexican border along a major transportation route, Edinburg serves as a distribution center, benefiting from the trade generated by cross-border manufacturing activity as well as the agricultural production in the region. Retail trade, government, education and health services are all major components of the area economy; and further economic expansion is expected in the near term related to $150 million in projects underway at the newly designated University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, including the region’s first medical school, and a $200 million expansion of the local hospital. Planned projects include a $650 million power plant and an upscale retail, entertainment, and hotel complex.
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