PHARR, RGV – During a groundbreaking ceremony for the Pharr Bridge Business Park, Dr. Ambrosio Hernandez, the mayor of Pharr, said the project upends the national stereotype that the Rio Grande Valley is a dangerous place to live, work and play.
The groundbreaking for the 300,000-square-foot business park occurred Mar. 12. The $25 million-plus investment will be used to store and/or transport cold storage products, medical equipment and manufacturing equipment. Hernandez said the business park will enhance what city leaders want to see for Pharr.
“We want to see more commerce for the area [and] it also enhances the ability to highlight that this is a safe area,” Hernandez said. “We’re not littered with problems along the border. It’s a beautiful, robust area and it’s a great economic engine for the entire nation.”
Hernandez said the park will bring more tax revenue into the city which in turn can be used to create a better quality of life for the citizens of Pharr.
“It [the Pharr Bridge Business Park] contributes to our local economy and our national economy as well,” Hernandez said. “It will enhance our bridge, not only for its fees, but also by transportation. The business park will bring clients to use the City of Pharr as a resource, as a pivotal point for their transportive products.”
Victor Perez, executive director of Pharr Economic Development Corporation, said the business park will create approximately 130 jobs and feature several warehouses for transported goods.
Carlos Canales, owner of the Pharr Bridge Business Park, said the park will feature five warehouses with construction split into three different phrases. The warehouses will allow for the safe handling of imported goods coming into the United States from Mexico.
“This project begins with initiating services that are lacking here in Pharr,” Canales said. “Through our transport business, we realized that there’s a need to facilitate the warehousing of products that the maquilas have on the border into the United States.”
Upcoming Projects for Pharr
The City of Pharr and its EDC is working on several other projects to move the community forward forward, its mayor said. Hernandez said that with all the growth that is happening, he can see higher education institutions for the children and more jobs for the citizens of Pharr.
“I see a very robust, strong and economically driven city with its citizens at its heart. I also see a large health industry in the City of Pharr. The Pharr International Bridge will probably move up in its ranks and probably contribute more than $30 billion in revenue for the nation,” Hernandez said.
One major project the city is working on is improving healthcare facilities. The city will sign a Memorandum of Understanding and there will be a ground breaking some time this year, Hernandez predicted. One improvement to the healthcare facilities include a state-of-the-art natatorium with rehabilitation services for adults.
“[There is also going to be a] 50,000-square-foot multi-specialty clinic to service the whole population of the Rio Grande Valley, but located at the heart of Pharr,” Hernandez said. “[The facility will feature] a surgical site so people have an option of where they want to go. This will be in the heart of the city, so they will have access to all the specialties that you see in Houston.”
