HARLINGEN, Texas - RioPlex, the nonprofit group that seeks to market the Rio Grande Valley and northern Tamaulipas globally, held a forum on deal structuring in Harlingen on March 11.
Among the speakers were: RioPlex Board Member Morgan LaMantia; Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda; Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez; RioPlex Chairman Joaquin Spamer; Texas National Bank's Rey Garcia, who spoke about new market tax credits; Randy Perez, Hidalgo County's economic development director, who spoke about property tax abatements; Albert Perez, Mercedes City Manager, who spoke about tax increment reinvestment zones; Eric Naranjo, associate director of the North American Development Bank, who spoke about environmental infrastructure finance; and Mario Reyna, executive director of RioPlex.
At the conclusion of the event, the RGG Business Journal secured an interview with Reyna. He said the event was an unqualified success, in part because of the quality of the presentations but also because of the leadership in the audience.
“We brought some fantastic speakers that talked to us about new market tax credits and talked about what we call a TIRZ (a tax increment reinvestment zone). We also talked about opportunity zones, and we had someone from the North American Development Bank. All of these individuals provided tools that can be used to encourage investment in our area, and that is what we want. We want more investment that creates better jobs, better paying jobs,” Reyna said.
In addition to discussing what happened at the forum, Reyna also spoke about the new hydrogen-powered oil refinery being built at the Port of Brownsville and the chances of the Rio Grande Valley having a unified Metropolitan Statistical Area. He also spoke about RioPlex’s growth in membership.
Here is a video recording of the interview:
