Space & Commerce Take Flight In City

By:

Space & Commerce Take Flight In City

Community News Comments
Cyclists in Brownsville are making the city a go-to place for their fitness hobby with the establishment to hike-and-bike trails throughout the community. (Courtesy)
Cyclists in Brownsville are making the city a go-to place for their fitness hobby with the establishment to hike-and-bike trails throughout the community. (Courtesy)

Nathan Burkhart in his six-year tenure at the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation was on the ground floor of the beginnings of the space industry coming to his hometown.

Nathan Burkhart was recently named to the dual leadership role of executive director of the Convention & Visitors Bureau and the new Office of Space Commerce. (Courtesy)
Nathan Burkhart was recently named to the dual leadership role of executive director of the Convention & Visitors Bureau and the new Office of Space Commerce. (Courtesy)

He served as the vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation at BCIC and became familiar with the leadership of SpaceX and its Starbase on Boca Chica Beach. It was during his BCIC tenure that he also met business owners and executives from space industry suppliers and vendors who are interested in Brownsville given its proximity to Starbase.

Putting it together, the city of Brownsville created an Office of Space Commerce and knew it had the ideal candidate in-house to lead it. Burkhart was named in early 2026 as the executive director of the Office of Space Commerce. He holds the same job title in a dual role of leading the city’s Convention & Visitors Bureau. 

For the CVB responsibilities, Burkhart can utilize experience gained as a marketing director of a large hotel company based in the Rio Grande Valley that has properties in McAllen and South Padre Island. The Brownsville native is also familiar with the city’s signature events – Charro Days and Sombrero Festival – and how their drawing power brings visitors to the city.

Brownsville’s Charro Days is one of the signature events that the Convention & Visitors Bureau will work to market to a wider audience. (Courtesy)
Brownsville’s Charro Days is one of the signature events that the Convention & Visitors Bureau will work to market to a wider audience. (Courtesy)

“We want to showcase Brownsville as a unique bicultural city,” Burkhart said. “We have a great history with celebrations like Charro Days. We would like to provide additional means of celebrating these traditions and breathe new life into them.”

‘Third Leg Of Tripod’

Burkhart says his top priority getting started is building out the Space Commerce office in “being the city’s arm” in space development efforts.

The Office of Space Commerce, he says, will be “the third leg of the tripod” in working with the recently renamed Greater Brownsville EDC and the BCIC. The goal among the organizations is to avoid duplication and draw upon the strengths of each entity. 

Greater Brownsville – which for years was known at the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation – focuses on larger companies in its recruitment and development efforts. The BCIC works with locally owned small businesses. Its multi-story facility serves as an incubator for research and innovation.

Brownsville’s new executive director of Space Commerce hopes to build on efforts by local EDCs to attract new industry vendors and suppliers to the city. (Courtesy)
Brownsville’s new executive director of Space Commerce hopes to build on efforts by local EDCs to attract new industry vendors and suppliers to the city. (Courtesy)

Each of the EDC organizations are quasi-independent organizations from city government and have their own respective boards of directors. Burkhart as the Space Commerce office director will work in tandem with the EDCs to recruit the suppliers and vendors looking to relocate to Brownsville in doing business with SpaceX and its Starbase rocket manufacturing facility.

The companies being recruited provide key supplies and components involving satellites, rocket propulsion materials, chemicals, and precision machining that are vital to Starbase operations. There are many opportunities and possibilities ahead in growing Brownsville’s space presence. There was a need, Burkhart said, for a more direct city involvement in these efforts. 

“The city wanted a specific economic development role in space commerce,” Burkhart said. “We’re providing assistance in (space) recruitment with the EDCs. There are several issues that involve intergovernmental regulations, permitting, and agreements. At the end of the day, the city needs to be part of the process.”

Charro Days of Brownsville is one of the Rio Grande Valley’s signature cultural events and one the city’s CVB hopes to promote to a bigger audience. (Courtesy)
Charro Days of Brownsville is one of the Rio Grande Valley’s signature cultural events and one the city’s CVB hopes to promote to a bigger audience. (Courtesy)

Highlighting Eco-Tourism

On the CVB side, Burkhart says he is evaluating existing programs and events and how funds provided by hotel occupancy taxes (HOT) are being utilized in promoting Brownsville.

The HOT taxes are imposed by state and local governments on tourists and visitors who use hotels, motels, and short-term rentals for stays of less than 30 consecutive days. These taxes are primary funding sources for visitors and convention bureaus like the one in Brownsville. 

One move Burkhart made quickly was bringing back a birding festival to the city. The Brownsville Birding Festival is set for April 11-12 at the Gladys Porter Zoo. Burkhart intends to make it a signature event that features the city’s hospitality and access to premier birding sites in Brownsville and surrounding areas.

“I think eco-tourism has long been overlooked here,” Burkhart said. “We’re in the middle of major migratory flyways and one of the best birding spots in the country.”

He also plans to promote the extensive infrastructure of hike-and-bike trails that Brownsville has developed. The city is becoming a hotbed for cyclists who ride the network of trails that loop around the city and whose reach goes north to Los Fresnos and west to Olmito. Food tourism is another category Burkhart wants to promote as Brownsville restaurateurs and chefs have received state and national recognition for Tex-Mex, barbecue, and higher-end fine dining.

“Brownsville has so much to offer,” Burkhart said. “I think we can market what we have to a larger audience.”

Ricardo D. Cavazos is a Rio Grande Valley native and journalist who has worked as a reporter, editor and publisher at Texas newspapers. Cavazos formerly worked as a reporter and editorial writer at The Brownsville Herald, Dallas Times Herald, Corpus Christi Caller-Times and San Antonio Light. He served as editor of The Monitor in McAllen from 1991-1998 and from there served for 15 years as publisher at The Herald in Brownsville. Cavazos has been providing content for the Valley Business Report since 2018.

Comments