EDINBURG, Texas – Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza says he can tell local residents with full confidence that his city is resilient, efficient, effective and strong.
“We have clear goals that have guided our decisions: to remain fiscally conservative, to spur economic development, and to improve infrastructure that will provide an unsurpassed quality of life for all who live in Edinburg,” Garza said.
“We have remained focused on our goals met our challenges head on and the state of our city is strong.”
Garza, pictured above, made his comments in the City of Edinburg’s 2023 State of the City Address. He pointed out that Edinburg is growing fast, having doubled over the last 20 years. He said the current population stands at 102,483.
“Based on that astronomical growth, we’re expected to be at about 128,000 by 2030 and 150,000 by 2040. So it’s no surprise that among all US cities, with 100,000 or more residents, Edinburg is the fastest growing city in all of South Texas, the fifth fastest in the entire state of Texas and the 12 fastest growing city in the entire country.”
On the subject of economic development, Garza said the forecast “looks brighter every day.” In fact, he said it is hard to grasp how many projects are underway in Edinburg.
“The growth in 2022 was just phenomenal,” Garza said. “We had a total capital investment of over $264 million, direct investment, in our city, which resulted in a total economic impact of over $730 million. Even better, all of these projects created 2,018 new jobs in our city.”
The audience applauded these statistics.
“Also in 2022, we issued more than 9,000 building permits that resulted in $301 million in construction activity,” Garza said.
“Construction is clearly booming in our city and in 2022 we have over 60 new subdivisions with over 2,500 lots. We are well on our way to surpassing those numbers, this year of 2023. We currently have 79 subdivisions in the process of being developed that are going to add over 4,000 lots in our city and it covers about 1,000 acres.”
Introducing a video on economic development that featured Edinburg council member Daniel ‘Dan’ Diaz, Mayor Garza predicted Edinburg “will continue to be the economic powerhouse of the Valley.”
Diaz said: “Edinburg is the fifth fastest growing large city in the state and we grow about an average of seven people per day.”
Diaz said the city’s priority has always been to provide longtime residents and newcomers alike with a community that is able to accommodate and meet their needs.
“We regularly welcome new businesses to our city that allow for a variety of services that include retail and dining spots, commercial spaces, industrial sites and more.
Diaz said transactions taking place at the North Industrial Park last year, “Edinburg expects to have almost $27 million dollars in new investment, the creation of approximately 560 new jobs and over 300,000 square feet in new industrial space built in 2023 for a total economic impact of over $147 million.”
Diaz said: “Economic development in Edinburg is booming and we anticipate our growth to follow the same pattern as produce and logistics companies choose Edinburgh as the site of their growing businesses.”
Diaz said the city council is continuing to advocate for the expansion of Edinburg’s South Texas International Airport, with increased collaboration with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
“In addition, we’re constantly working to improve existing infrastructure through bonds, and through the proper use of economic development sales tax revenues entrusted to us that have led to street improvement projects across the city as we aim to better the quality of life in our area,” Diaz said.
“Economic development is key for us to 2023. This will lead to so much more.”
Mayor Garza thanked council member Diaz, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, and the investors and businesses that have chosen to invest in the city.”
On the jobs front, Garza said he was happy to report that Edinburg’s unemployment rate dipped to 5.1 percent in 2022, down from 6.4 percent the prior year.
“Last year, Edinburg regenerated $34.6 million in sales tax activity. That is the highest in our city’s history. Our total annual sales tax collection was up 13% from the previous year.”
Garza added: “We have all the key ingredients, solid infrastructure, better roads and drainage, booming growth and open land to grow. I’m going to repeat that, open land to grow.
“And we will maintain our commitment to improving our streets and drainage systems will continue to push for economic growth while still consistently maintaining high quality of city services.
“We also have untapped potential at our airport. We have some innovative ideas and as council member Diaz pointed out, we are planning to expand our airport.
“We’re looking forward to work with our regional partners to push for the completion of the Hidalgo County Loop, including the International Bridge Trade Corridor that will connect our international bridges to our airport and Interstate 69.”
Editor’s Note: The above news story is the second in a three-part series on the City of Edinburg’s 2023 State of the City Address. Click here to listen to Part One, which features Edinburg’s four city council members. Part Three will be published later this week.
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