Today, the Rio Grande Valley is a vastly different place from the quiet, grassy plains once roamed by the Coahuiltecan Indians. Thanks in part to the unquestioned benefits brought by the North American Free Trade Agreement, South Texas stands poised for massive growth and, for its residents and investors, proportional prosperity.
The staple industry of the Rio Grande Valley remains agriculture. Valley farms and ranches have survived floods, droughts, hurricanes and freezes for more than a century and a half, only to emerge stronger and more competitive.
The Valley, which is comprised of 2,716,160 acres, or 4,244 square miles, is strictly speaking not a valley at all, but rather a delta created by the Rio Grande. For thousands of years, before the damming of the river, its rising and falling waters left the soil rich and fertile.
The subtropical climate provides a year-round growing season marked by mild winters, warm and humid evenings and adequate rainfall to sustain a variety of crops from the traditional to the exotic. Valley farms and ranches produce cash receipts averaging over $500 million annually, but the financial impact of agriculture upon the Valley, the state and even the nation is much greater.
Tourism is another growing industry in South Texas. The white sands and emerald waters of South Padre Island draw visitors from around the world. The Island's state-of-the-art convention center attracts concerts, exhibits and trade shows. In 1994, 1995 and 1996, the Miss USA Pageant was held here, as well as the Miss Texas Pageant for 1994 through 1998.
Ecotourism is also a big draw; birders flock to the Valley to view almost 500 species of birds. The World Birding Center is a $20 million development based on a joint partnership between the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, The Parks and Wildlife Foundation, nine Rio Grande Valley communities and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Center is a network of nine different birding sites set along a historic 120-mile river road.
Winter Texans remain the largest tourist group. Retired Midwesterners for the most part, these annual tourists travel to the Valley to live for up to six months out of the year, providing an enormous economic bounty to local merchants. Many of these Winter Texans live in the RV and trailer parks that are scattered up and down the Valley; there are more than 500 of them with a total of 68,000 spaces.
Several hundred shrimp boats and many commercial fishing boats ply their trade up and down the coastline from the Port of Brownsville to Port Isabel to Port Mansfield. They, along with shrimp farmers who grow shrimp in ponds, produce tons of the shellfish that grace dinner tables and angler's hooks across the country.
Situated at the confluence of the two main migratory flyways between North and South America, the Valley is world famous among bird watchers for the variety and number of birds to be found here, and international birding has become an important part of the economic development of the region.
In addition to the natural beauty and attractions of the Valley, ongoing work is bolstering the infrastructure to meet the rapid growing demands of the region.
The Texas Department of Transportation is currently implementing a three-year, $220 million transportation construction program for Valley roadways. The program involves construction projects, the widening of existing roads, road maintenance and traffic mobility improvement projects for Texas' southernmost eight counties.
The South Texas medical establishment attracts patients from the north and the south who are drawn by the high quality of Valley facilities and the expertise of its physicians and staff. New and expanding facilities are expected to generate large revenues for the South Texas economy.
The Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) in Harlingen, currently under construction, is being developed as an upper level medical school. The initial RAHC academic facility will be a multi-story building of approximately 90,000 square feet constructed and equipped by the University of Texas with a state appropriation of $25 million. At full development, the facility should employ around 250 full-time employees with an annual payroll of $5.5 million. The total operating budget is estimated to reach $9 million by 2005. The direct economic impact during the development phase (1999-2005) is estimated at $27 million.
Many factors have contributed to the Valley's booming economy, but perhaps none is so important as the boost in manufacturing brought about as the result of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The maquiladora, or twin plant, concept of manufacturing with labor-intensive work done in Mexico where labor is cheaper, coupled with support facilities on the U.S. side, has been growing steadily for over 20 years.
Brownsville/Matamoros has more than 64,000 maquiladora workers, and its Foreign Trade Zone is the largest general purpose trade zone in the United States. McAllen/Reynosa has about 65,500 workers. The McAllen area has eight industrial parks, two foreign trade zones and several commercial enterprise zones. The Pharr/Reynosa International Bridge provides access to the Reynosa Industrial Park, Airport and the Autopisa, which is the fastest route to Monterey.
This page was generated based selective information gathered from the comprehensive resources available at the Rio Grande Valley Chamber of Commerce.
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RG Valley