RANCHO VIEJO, Texas - Willacy County will soon be getting a new heritage center, County Judge Aurelio Guerra has announced.
The center will be built on land the county owns off of State Highway 186, close to I-69 East.
The cost of the building is $5 million with funding coming from the General Land Office.
“We're very excited about getting this project going. We will be going out for bids in a couple of weeks and it should be built by March or April of next year,” Guerra told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service.
The Guardian interviewed Judge Guerra when he attended a North American Development Bank listening tour event hosted by Estrada Hinojosa and Company and held at Rancho Viejo Country Club.
The name of the facility has yet to be decided on, the judge said.
Asked what the purpose of the building will be, Guerra said: “It's going to be like a community center, where we'll be able to make presentations. Also, it is going to have offices that we'll be able to lease out. Or, we might be able to just house offices that already exist, such as Texas A&M AgriLife, the Veterans Administration Office and so forth.”
Guerra said the size of the building has been scaled back. However, he said it will still serve its purpose.
“The grant is for $5 million. But once we laid out the plan, we tested the waters and it seemed that we were over in terms of what it would cost. So we went back and we shrunk it a bit. But, it is still going to be big enough to facilitate but small enough to be able to afford.”
Asked if there is a lot of excitement in the community about the new heritage center, Guerra said: “We have not yet promoted it yet. But, this is coming about real quickly. Once construction starts then I think the excitement will be there.
Asked why the new heritage center is important, Guerra said it will, indirectly, boost economic development.
“This center is going to be very important for the community. I think it is something that's vital. There are a lot of factors that play a role in a community like ours, one that, for the most part, has not experienced the growth that other communities in the Rio Grande Valley have,” Guerra said.
“I think it is very important for our residents to know that individuals such as myself, the commissioners court and other leaders are doing whatever we can to show that we're are growing and that we don't want to be left with stale, old buildings. We don't want to have that kind of image, that our facilities are deteriorating.
“So, whenever an opportunity such as this comes around, where you can have a new building and people are able to utilize this building as their own, then it inspires people.
“And to me that also gives the impression of perhaps new businesses coming in and it rubs off into opportunities for economic development. So it's all about community.”
