The City of Brownsville made a $3 million-plus decision 10 years ago that it was going to invest in and revitalize its Market Square.

It is the historic heart of Brownsville with its origins going back to the early 1850s when it opened as an open-air market. In the years that followed it would house city offices and later become a hub for its bus system. Market Square looked worn in the 1980s and its scent was of diesel-fed fumes of aging city buses.

Fast forward 40 years and the Market Square of today has been refurbished and reborn. There is the greenery of new landscaping and its iconic tower has been restored to its original grandeur. Younger generations are discovering what their predecessors of yesteryears loved about Market Square with live entertainment, dances and celebrations, and vendors selling a wide variety of goods and products.

“The city made the strategic decision that Market Square was the place it would start in the revitalization of downtown,” said Daniel Leal, the director of planning and redevelopment services. “Let’s concentrate on that area and make this work.”

And the commitment to making it work has paid off. The first Friday of every month is the date when local artists, musicians and vendors gather at Market Square to celebrate their community and support local businesses. The city partnered with the local utility in converting overhead utilities to being underground along alleys in cleaning up downtown clutter. 

The beautification and reinvestment in Market Square have been a major stimulus in bringing a slew of new trendy restaurants, pubs and bookstores to Downtown Brownsville, with many of them owned by Millennial-aged entrepreneurs. 

“Brownsville has something really special,” said Samantha Diaz, the marketing and special events coordinator for the city. “More people are coming downtown, walking around and exploring, seeing the renovations that have been made and the work that has been put in to preserve our history.”

Attracting Younger Generations

First Friday is the marquee event of the new downtown beat.

It is an evening event that begins around 7 p.m. and draws over 5,000 visitors each month. The lineup of attractions is varied, from live music to lucha libres and its Mexican-style wrestling to iconic celebrations such as Dia de Los Muertos. People of all ages attend First Fridays and it has especially been a draw for Millennial and Generation Z demographic groups.

Allan Garces is the 30-something manager of Brownsville’s downtown revitalization. Garces speaks of friends his age who are visiting downtown and perhaps experiencing for the first time the uniqueness of their city’s history. Diaz is a native of the upper-Rio Grande Valley and in taking the marketing job in Brownsville came to realize that the city has far more historical roots and imagery than McAllen can offer.

And it’s not just Market Square. The nearly 100-year-old El Jardin Hotel, which was in decay for years, is now getting a makeover by the city’s housing authority and will provide a new source of affordable housing. Another downtown jewel – the Samano Building – is a 100 years-plus old structure and started as a bank on Elizabeth Street. It is also being transformed into a place for affordable housing, with an emphasis on helping the homeless and veterans at risk of becoming homeless.

Pairing the comebacks of two historic buildings with other restorations of vintage buildings into restaurants and other shops all feeds into what Leal and his staff are trying to do downtown.

“There’s opportunity and momentum in the downtown area,” Leal said.

Putting Together A Master Plan

To keep that momentum going Leal and Garces are at the forefront of the city’s downtown master plan.

It’s a plan in its final months of formation. Parking is a key issue. There’s one parking garage downtown and a second is needed. Continuing to make the city more pedestrian friendly with more walkways is also a high priority. Developing a trolley system and improving BTX Connect to help people get in and out of Brownsville is another key item. The latter is a new downtown circular route that ferries riders in large city vans and operates every five minutes during evening hours on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Efforts are continuing as well in the continued improvements made in downtown infrastructure. Put it all together along with other initiatives and a once stagnant city core is on the move.

“It’s exciting to see,” Garces said. “People can come downtown and see the improvements in Market Square and how pedestrian-friendly it has become. It shows that our leaders really believe in it.”