By J. Noel Espinoza/RioGrandeInfo.com

1-27-22

Nestled between Brownsville and Harlingen, San Benito is promoting its prime location as a valuable asset to businesses and investors looking for new ventures.

With easy access to rail, air, an intracoastal waterway, and international highways, the San Benito Economic Development Corporation launched on Wednesday its first commercial and investment tour to attract economic growth in the Resaca City.

San Benito EDC Director Rebeca Castillo said the event was possible in association with RGV Partnership, a Weslaco business non-profit organization that encourages collaboration between the four counties of the Rio Grande Valley. RGV Partnership has been sponsoring commercial and investment tours since last year, officials said.

During the tour, local officials and prospect investors visited a new AEP/Light Industrial Property, Resaca Village, and Codysur Group, all located on Business 77, and San Benito Plaza at 1145 Ross Road.

Castillo said EDC’s commitment is to work collaboratively with the San Benito leadership for the purpose of creating a vibrant community for visitors, businesses, and residents.

“Our mission is to promote, support, and foster economic development within the San Benito community,” Castillo said to a group of investors and city officials who gathered at the EDC’s headquarters.  “It’s a win-win for our developers, residents, and the community.”

Castillo said this includes recruitment and retention of new industries, innovation, and the promotion of startups and entrepreneurships.

Carlos Buentello, a representative for Codysur Group, a conglomerate of nine companies which started as a trucking business in 2003, said the company has evolved since its inception. The company is located along the Expressway and Business 77.

“We’re mainly logistics, that’s what we do,” Buentello said.  “We don’t consider ourselves a trucking company basically because we find clients’ solutions for importing, warehousing, whatever it might be.”

Although San Benito isn’t known as McAllen, Reynosa, Pharr, and Brownsville, Buentello said the Resaca City has a primary location and it should take advantage as other major cities such as Brownsville and Harlingen continue to expand and grow.

“This place is really in a good spot when it comes to traffic,” Buentello, whose company has about $15 million in revenues yearly, said. “I think it has a lot of opportunities for growth. You are fortunate when you are working in a city that caters to businesses.”

In addition, officials said there are plans to develop 130 acres of key real estate land off Business 83. Near the expressway, the property has been named a ‘business park development’ rather than an industrial park. With international transportation access and a strategic location for global distribution of goods, they said zoning can be customized to include subdivisions, restaurants, and other valuable amenities.

“We’re very busy in the economic development front,” said Bernard Rodriguez, the city’s planning coordinator.

Rodriguez said the city will sponsor an open house on March to meet residents and landowners who might be affected by all the new developments going on around San Benito.

Louie Tijerina, a Brownsville native and broker for San Benito Plaza, said he moved from Dallas to the valley during the Covid-19 pandemic and decided to stay after observing the opportunities to grow in the area.

“What I was doing during that time was really connecting with a lot of developers that I have met up in Dallas,” he said. “You guys may not know this but San Benito Plaza which sits right in front of the Walmart is owned by one of those Dallas developers.”

Mayor Ricardo Guerra said the commercial and investors’ tour is a great idea because San Benito has a lot to offer. “We have a lot of land where people can invest in San Benito,” Guerra said. “We have the potential to grow and it’s going to help everybody.”