Raudel Garza’s first year as executive director of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has been “100 mph from day one.”

Garza is hardly complaining in making that assessment with Edinburg. The city is growing at such a rapid clip, he said, and bringing with it “lots of opportunities and challenges.” For an economic development specialist, it’s a fertile field to grow jobs and recruit new industries while nurturing small businesses and entrepreneurs. Garza is doing so while building a staff and organization from scratch given the different models of economic development Edinburg utilized prior to his arrival in November 2022.

“Edinburg was looking for someone who had done this kind of work before,” said Garza.

Garza came to Edinburg after a 10-year stint as Harlingen’s chief executive officer for economic development. He speaks of “building up a team” and putting processes in place while giving the EDC some independence from city government. Garza and his staff no longer office at City Hall but he collaborates frequently with the city manager and is attuned to the goals of the City Commission. Like other EDCs, the one in Edinburg has its own board who Garza reports to. The entire organization is under the purview of the city government.

Having some space between the two entities allows Garza to have enough leeway to pursue strategies and projects as his colleagues do across the Rio Grande Valley. For the economic development specialist, it has been a year of developing “more retail, more hospitality, more industrial” in a city whose population has climbed to over 100,000 residents.

Industrial Park Rising

Among the top items on Garza’s 2023 list was the development of the city’s North Industrial Park.

Development in similar industrial parks has flourished across the Valley. Edinburg had fallen a step back in that regard in the midst of all of its population and residential growth. The nearly 400-acre industrial park north of Edinburg and adjacent to U.S. Highway 281 had muddled along in recent years. 

In 2023, Nicho Produce announced plans to build a 50,000-square-foot cold storage facility at the North Industrial Park. Nicho will utilize the facility as a hub to deliver fruits and vegetables from Laredo to Corpus Christi and south to the Valley. It would be a harbinger of further development with Garza saying three other companies have closed on property space at the industrial park. Three other companies are close to doing the same, he said. 

Edinburg’s South Texas International Airport is also north of town on 281. It has become the airport of choice for governmental entities such as the Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Border Patrol. Garza is working with airport leadership on industrial possibilities for the airfield and possible connections to the emerging industrial park.  

“I think all that we’re seeing developing north of town enhances our ability to market the airport and industrial park,” Garza said.

Retail Rush

On the southern edge of the city is Trenton Road, which Garza describes as “a hot retail area.”

It’s where Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley is located and where Trenton meets up with 281. The Edinburg shopping center saw new tenants open in 2023, including a Michael’s. It’s also an area with a considerable number of restaurants and coffee shops. Garza said a new phase three of the Shoppes area will include a Courtyard Marriott hotel. 

To bolster its retail efforts, Edinburg announced in December that it was partnering with Retail Strategies, a national retail consulting firm. Together, they will make improvements in recruiting more retailers to the city and devise new strategies to do so. Edinburg EDC Board President Veronica Gonzalez announced in late 2023 that the city was “launching aggressive recruitment efforts to attract retailers.” Connected to those efforts is a goal to improve entertainment venues in Edinburg, Garza said. He pointed out that the city does not have a bowling alley or a large family entertainment center like a Main Event, which offers an array of games and activities. 

Another item on Garza’s checklist is launching the Façade and Lot Improvement Program. The grant program helps small businesses in the city make improvements to their facades, landscaping and overall exterior look. The Edinburg EDC has allocated $400,000 to get the program started in 2024 and will support at least 40 qualifying businesses. Many other RGV cities have implemented similar programs. FLIP’s first priority is to help downtown businesses and other parts of the city adversely affected by recent economic trends.

Edinburg looks to have made strides in 2023 in stabilizing its economic development efforts. In 2024, Garza will be looking forward to further building his team and matching economic development efforts with the overall growth of Edinburg.