DESPITE HOOPLA ABOUT GBIC'S NORTH B'VILLE $4.2 MILLION INDUSTRIAL PARK; WELCOME TRUCKERS FREE PARKING LOT

By Juan Montoya
The press release by the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation was (as their press releases usually are) glowing and breathless.

"Through the hard work, vision, and commitment from the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC), plans for the construction of a $4.2 million dollar 73-acre 'class A shovel-ready' industrial park have come to fruition."

Industry cheerleaders like Inbound Logistics applauded the GBIC for diving "directly into the real estate business, acquiring a 73-acre property four miles from the port and contracting with the not-for-profit Brownsville Economic Development Council (BEDC) to market the site's 11 lots.
"This is our first shot at developing land in the greater Brownsville 'borderplex,'" they quoted Gilberto Salinas, the BEDC's vice president.  

"Located at the epicenter of North America and Latin America, the North Brownsville Industrial Park is designed for light to medium industrial operations with the opportunity to suit an array of industrial operations seeking a clean environment, quality labor force, proximity to international hubs, excellent transportation services, and most importantly, a city with a pro-business environment.

The North Brownsville Industrial Park sits on Paredes Line Road, just south of the newly constructed SH 550 loop about 4 miles from the Port of Brownsville and the Expressway 77/83 interchange, and has full installation of roads and utilities. 

The park comprises a 73.5 acre tract, divided into 11 lots that range between 2 to 10 acres in size. This property has earned the coveted "Shovel Ready" seal by an international site selection firm, The Austin Company, which has also qualified Brownsville as a "Competitive Ready" city after conducting a very extensive and thorough research of the city of Brownsville.
* SH 550 (Future I-69 Spur) * 4 International Bridges * Port of Brownsville (4 miles) * Brownsville SPI International Airport (7 miles)
* Rail (service by UP/BNSF, Brownsville Rio Grande & International Railroad) * West Rail International Bridge (under construction)
ALL UTILITIES IN PLACE:
Electric - Brownsville Public Utilities Board, dual feed substation on adjacent property
Water & Wastewater - Brownsville Public Utilities Board, Southmost Regional Water Plant
Natural Gas - Texas Gas Service
Fiber Optic - AT&T
GBIC, a non-profit corporation whose purpose is to expedite and enhance economic and industrial development in Brownsville, began developing the North Brownsville Industrial Park in 2008. This Class A shovel-ready site was a 2 year and a 4.2 million dollar investment."

Well, go out there and drive by and see what the residents of Brownsville are getting in return for this $4.2 millions of tax payers money.

And even though the GBIC and BEDC have been hawking up park, there is yet not one paying tenant is located at the site.
And despite having been opened since June 2011 and Salinas and others asserted investors would be flocking to the site, the city has not even attracted the one new business – Piasa, a manufacturer of condiments, flavorings, and spices based in Monterrey, Mexico, – which they claimed was "shovel ready" to build a manufacturing plant on two of the park's 11 lots.

Well, it's only been going on three years, we guess. If you drive by there, it's a desolate wasteland surrounded by mesquite and Johnson grass.

It now serves as a free truck stop for out-of-state truckers who have turned into a way stop for their rigs. It may be shovel-ready in the sense that if the truckers have pets it would be nice for them to shovel their pets' business into the bushes in order not to discourage the hordes of investors envisioned by the "hard work, vision and commitment" of the GBIC visionaries.