Tag Archives: Brownsville

BCIC Offers Economic Development Grants

BCIC

Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation is seeking nonprofit and city partners to partner with to promote economic development. BCIC looks to promote the development through the BCIC Partnership Grants which focus on community development projects. Both nonprofit organizations and city departments are the focus of the grants. By design, the awards engage in the necessary community development needed to promote economic development opportunities. Through the grants, the BCIC will supplement up to $5,000…

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Building ‘Soft Skills’ for Success

UTRGV students collaborate on last-minute details during the GreenpowerUSA South Texas Electric Car Competition. (Courtesy)

Public-private collaborations to build a workforce for the future have picked up speed in recent years amidst growing concerns that some skills needed to prosper are lagging behind advancements in technology. Electric cars whizzing around at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour offer a recent example of how some young people in the Rio Grande Valley are looking forward. Thirty-one teams representing middle schools, high schools and colleges…

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Venturing into Shared Workspace

Two Venture X clients take care of business in one of the meeting rooms. (Courtesy)

One of the first customers of the recently opened Venture X shared workspace in Harlingen was a Dallas production company that needed a place to make an advertising pitch to South Texas H-E-B executives. The company had made arrangements for a space in the Los Fresnos area, but discovered internet connectivity problems in advance of the meeting. So they contacted Venture X and rented a 10-person meeting room equipped with…

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DreamBuilder Give Tools for Business Start-Up

DreamBuilder

The Women’s Business Center of Cameron County and the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce are now accepting applications from those interested in starting a business for its DreamBuilder Academy. The 12-module course is designed specifically for women (although anyone can participate) and creates a step-by-step framework for starting a business. The DreamBuilder format helps participants realize if they should start a business, as well as understand a business plan. Costs with…

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Deal Advances $1.6 Billion Port Steel Mill

Big River Steel was the first to have a steel mill to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The Brownsville Navigation District Board of Commissioners recently signed an option agreement to lease for the company to build another LEED-certified plant at the Port of Brownsville. (photo Big River Steel)

On Tuesday, the Brownsville Navigation District Board of Commissioners signed an option agreement for Big River Steel LLC to build a $1.6 billion plant at the Port of Brownsville. The agreement covers up to 800 acres of property. This will enable the steel-maker to develop a LEED-certified steel manufacturing plant, as well as storage and a distribution facility.  “This is good news for Brownsville and the result of hard work by many…

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UTRGV Students Take Trading Competition

Christopher Martinez, Michael Villarreal and Jose Naveja with faculty advisor Bruno Arthur (UTRGV Photo)

A group of undergraduate business students from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley recently beat out more than 500 teams from 37 countries to capture their first ever championship win in the 15th annual CME Group Trading Challenge. Christopher Martinez of McAllen, Michael Villarreal of Rio Grande City and Jose Naveja of Progreso finished the competition with a total of $706,585. They beat out second-place competitor Kansas State University, who…

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Coast Guard Supports Texas LNG

Rendering of Texas LNG’s planned liquefaction terminal at the Port of Brownsville.

The United States Coast Guard found the Brownsville Ship Channel to be suitable for marine traffic resulting from Texas LNG’s planned liquefaction terminal at the Port of Brownsville. In a letter of recommendation issued Feb. 26, the Coast Guard concluded that the waterway is suitable to handle current and anticipated incremental traffic from the Texas LNG proposed facility. The Houston-based company plans to construct an LNG export facility on a…

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Taking a Byte from the Apple

Jose David Avila and his son David hold a vintage IBM keyboard like one they sold online for $1,000. (VBR)

A father/son team has carved out a niche in the recycling industry by working with products no one else in the Rio Grande Valley touches: electronics. RDA Technologies in Brownsville recycles anything with electronic components inside, ranging from old computers to ice makers to televisions and more. “I started in my living room in 2012 destroying old computers. Then my wife kicked me out to the garage,” said Jose David…

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Building a Future on the Past

Inside the restored Putegnat Building in Brownsville, Fernando Balli talks about the 1868 building. Designer Tina Garbo Bailey, who collaborated with Balli, stands to his right. (VBR)

While getting his degree in architecture and environmental design, Fernando Balli earned a C in architectural history. That is noteworthy because now, with Balli Property Group, he specializes in restoring historic architecture in Brownsville. The turning point came when, after restoring a 1931 house on Palm Boulevard that backs onto Town Resaca, he and his wife decided that, instead of flipping it, they would make it their home. The striking…

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Standing on the Brink of Boom

Big economic news is expected to break in April with an announcement that will mark the latest industrial success story for Cameron County, further setting the stage for an unprecedented economic boom for this southernmost county in Texas.   “We are on the cusp of some great things,” said Gilbert Salinas, director of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp. “And it’s no accident. This has been a 10-year body of work…

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