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Encouraged by the Pharr EDC’s business-friendly approach, incentives, and packages, produce companies Delta Fresh and Kaliroy Fresh have collaborated to build 1 million square feet of produce storage space in South Pharr.

In an interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, William Millan, project manager of the new space, called Dekal Industrial Park, credited Pharr’s location near Mexico and the Pharr EDC’s commitment to making business investments in the city easy, as the reasons the project chose Pharr for its location.

The project marks a massive addition of warehouse space to the refrigerated warehouses the two produce companies already own in Pharr. It will consist of a mix of dry, frozen, and refrigerated space to meet client needs. The first warehouse in the new space should be completed next year.

Victor Perez, Executive Director of Pharr EDC, in the same interview, also announced several new projects that the Pharr EDC has brought into the city. These include the following:

• A 150,000 square foot warehouse
• A Tractor Supply groundbreaking
• A McDonald’s groundbreaking
• A Triple H expansion

Perez noted that the Pharr EDC never refuses new business, and never stops striving to bring in the business and growth that benefits Pharr.

“We’re here to do business with them,” he said.” We don’t turn projects away. We incentivize as much as we can. That is what we are known for. We want to make sure they [Businesses] feel comfortable that they have been treated right and given the best opportunity for them to succeed.”

PHARR, Texas – The Pharr EDC Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides scholarship opportunities for graduating students residing in the city of Pharr.

Its mission statement is to “support and promote endeavors that foster educational, occupational, and career opportunities for Pharr residents to advance their socioeconomic status and enhance their quality of life.”

Lilvette Santos is the director of the Pharr EDC Foundation. She recently sat down with Rio Grande Guardian International News Service editor and publisher Steve Taylor to discuss the foundation’s work. She unveiled some of the new initiatives the foundation will be embarking on in the coming months.

Spend more time enjoying your golden years and less time worrying about financing them when you retire to Pharr. Rated the cheapest place to retire in the nation, Pharr offers you great entertainment, housing, and community you can actually afford!

As the President & CEO of the Pharr Economic Development Corporation, I would like to thank you for your continued partnership, business, and investment in our great city. We have experienced tremendous growth over the years and in Pharr, your business is “our business”! At the Pharr EDC we work hard to ensure you have every tool to be successful and thriving in the market, that is why we are proud to announce the launch of our new Pharr EDC “Economic Times Newsletter” which will help keep you abreast of all current EDC projects and events occurring in the community and beyond. Our priority at the Pharr EDC is the success of our businesses and companies, continued growth of our city, quality of life of our residents, and capitalizing on our unique global marketplace. We hope this will serve as a useful resource in highlighting our regional, state, and international economic development projects!

The city of Pharr is dedicated to improving the overall quality of life for our citizens. This is why we, in collaboration with South Texas College (STC) and the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District (PSJA ISD), are working diligently to bring the highly anticipated Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence to fruition.

Collaboration and innovation is at the heart of everything taking place in Pharr.

That was the message Pharr Mayor Dr. Ambrosio Hernandez wanted to convey to delegates from the United Kingdom earlier this week.

The City of Pharr welcomed British Consul General Karen Bell on Oct. 13. The consul was making a whirlwind trip through the region, and was especially enthusiastic about development taking place at the Pharr International Bridge.

The consul was the guest of honor at a breakfast organized by Pharr officials who used the time to brief her on the economic impact and infrastructure development currently taking place at the bridge.

In attendance at the meeting was Mayor Hernandez, Mexican Consul based in McAllen Guillermo Ordorica Robles, Pharr EDC interim executive director Sergio Contreras, interim bridge director Luis Bazan, and Bridge Board chairman Edgar Delgadillo.

“You have a phenomenal scale of ambition in terms of your infrastructure plans. I’d be interested to hear how the financing for that works and whether there are opportunities for other international partners to come in an offer advice,” Bell said at the meeting with Pharr leaders. “We are ready to provide opportunities for growing trade in both directions using this partnership between Texas and Mexico.”

Appointed in July, Consul General Bell represents the UK in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. Based in Houston, Bell is spearheading a number of projects currently underway in her consulate including a trade mission to London this December for US financial technology companies, and an MOU signed between the UK Satellite Applications Catapult and Houston Airport System, marking the UK as the first international partner for Houston’s commercial spaceport.

Her visit to the Valley was a mission to gauge the area’s economic growth and educational impact in communities. In Pharr, Bell was made aware that the city’s bridge is currently the number one Port of Entry for produce in the United States.

“This is part of the reason that we wanted to see what is happening here on the ground. Certainly, the scale at which you are growing has redoubled my enthusiasm for the understanding that we can and should be doing more to promote UK participation,” Bell said. “Whether it’s getting traffic across the bridge, whether it’s in terms of helping you to think about financing if that’s an issue because public-private partnerships is something that we have developed quite an expertise for. If there is something more we can be doing in terms of the planning and development of the project as you move ahead, doubling the capacity of the bridge is an enormous engineering feat apart from everything else.”

Pharr International Bridge crosses about 60 percent of all fresh produce coming into the U.S. from Mexico. In 2014 alone, Pharr accommodated $30 billion worth of trade with the world and 2015 looks to top that figure. The bridge is conducting a new study for 2016, and officials at the bridge say that number will climb to possibly $37 billion, which is record-breaking growth, according to Pharr leaders.

“At the heart of everything is collaboration and innovation,” said mayor Hernandez in his remarks to the Consul. “You can see it here. It has worked wonderfully with the government of Mexico. We are happy to have you here, and wanted to make sure you saw first-hand, the growth that is going to occur in this area. We have a wonderful partner to the south of us. On behalf of the mayor’s office, we are very glad to have you here today.”