Posted: 06/13/2011
Author:
Gilberto Salinas, Vice President – Marketing, Communications & Public Affairs
The Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation today announced the grand opening of the North Brownsville Industrial Park, which is not only a Class ‘A’ location but also certified by a leading site selection firm as ‘Shovel Ready’.
The 73-acre site at Paredes Line Road, just south of the newly constructed SH 550 Loop, is zoned light and medium industrial and is suited for an array of industrial operations seeking a clean environment, quality labor force, proximity to international hubs, excellent transportation services, and most importantly, a city with a pro-business environment.
“Such terminology as shovel ready, foreign direct investment, industrial growth and economic prosperity are all synonymous when it pertains to doing international business in the greater Brownsville borderplex,” said Jose Herrera, chairman of the GBIC and one of the community leaders who had the vision of utilizing public funds to attract foreign direct investment.
“The North Brownsville Industrial Park’s certification gives us a marketing advantage over our competition but most importantly, the tools needed to compete at the global level,” Herrera said.
The industrial park was certified by The Austin Company, an internationally recognized engineering and site selection firm. The site had to meet stringent requirements in terms of availability, zoning, utility infrastructure, permitting and site characteristics to receive certification.
Also of interest to location advisors, which commonly represent Fortune 1,000 companies during site search duties, is availability of talent pool and labor force. The industrial park is strategically located in a region where it will draw from 122,700 employees and population of nearly 400,000 in a 25-mile radius.
The site will also garner interest for its geographic location being 4 miles from the Port of Brownsville, about 7 miles from the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport, onsite rail access and minutes from international bridge and rail crossings.
Of the 11 lots constructed at the industrial park, the first two already have been sold to a major food processing and manufacturing firm from Monterrey, Mexico, which will create upward of 100-plus jobs with its significant capital investment.
“This is a perfect example of leveraging public funds to attract industry, create jobs, expand our much needed tax base and ultimately, increate our city’s wealth,” Herrera said.
Don Schjedahl, Austin vice president, credited Brownsville for bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders, community partners, and regulatory agencies to complete the myriad of tasks required to truly achieve ‘shovel ready’ status, which was an 18-month process.
About the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation
The GBIC is a Type A non-profit organization established by the Texas Legislature, which allows for proceeds from the Section 4A sales tax dedicated by statute to economic development projects to promote new and expanded industrial and manufacturing activities. Since 1992, the GBIC has invested $47 million in project development funds through performance-based incentives, job training incentives and public infrastructure projects.
About the Brownsville Economic Development Council
The Brownsville EDC is a business that promotes the economic and industrial development of the Brownsville‐Matamoros region and is dedicated to building economic prosperity in the area. The Brownsville metro is one of the fastest growing areas in the state of Texas and the United States. The BEDC is contracted by the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation.
About The Austin Company
The Austin Company is an international firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of in-house architectural, engineering, design-build, construction management and consulting services. The Austin Company is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, with offices in Cleveland, Atlanta and Irvine, California. Originally founded in 1878, Austin is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kajima USA and a proud member of the Kajima family of companies.
About Competitive Ready
The Competitive Ready Seal acknowledges that your community has passed a rigorous third‐party evaluation of 10 critical location nodes. The designation is the standard for site selectors, whom score communities’ competitiveness on location factors specific to target industries. Many communities claim they are open for business. The CR Seal proves you are ready for business.
For more information, please log onto:
www.BEDC.com for more pertaining to economic activity in the Brownsville area,
www.theaustin.com for more in regards to the site certification process,
www.competitiveready.com for more about certifying a city or region as business ready.
