Good afternoon, everyone. I'm going to go off script a little bit. I think that's appropriate right now because we are absolutely at an historic time here in the City of Brownsville. Not only for Brownsville but for our region, our bi-national region.
I think it was mentioned earlier. We have the potential of being the most important trade corridor, not only in our region but in the world. We have the potential from an asset perspective, from a labor perspective. We just have to work together, and I think that's the message. And I think it's happening.
We're starting to see tremendous progress here in Brownsville. Last year, we were the number one city in the United States for economic development, which is an amazing thing. Over the next ten years, we're planning on creating 29,000 jobs, and the vast majority of those jobs will be over six figures. These aren't low-income jobs. These aren't retail jobs. These are advanced manufacturing skilled jobs where you don't necessarily need a college degree. People can go right from high school, get a certification, and make very good wages. That breaks the cycle of poverty. That makes a city stronger, more vibrant.
For the longest time, we didn't have enough money to take care of our infrastructure, our parks. It's a reason why we've been held back. I think economic development unlocks the potential for communities. We've all known we've had a great workforce down here. We've all known we have a wonderful culture, a binational culture. It is our strength, and the world's starting to see how special this place is. We have we have another $30 billion of projects coming. And that's just what we know. There is a lot more, I think, that's coming.
Growth creates growing pains. But these are great problems to have. I think you see a lot of construction in our city. Bear with it. We'll get through the expansion of our roads and we’re synchronizing our traffic lights. We have 250 traffic signals that were not synchronized. Every time the power goes out, it gets undone, and it creates kind of chaos. We're upgrading everything. We have 28 million dollars from the state to upgrade our traffic signals. So these are things that we're working on as fast as we can.
But from a bi-national perspective, I’ve made it a high priority to work with our colleagues in Matamoros, the business community in Matamoros. I have an open door. I meet regularly with a number of you to discuss opportunities, discuss our challenges openly, and how can we really move the needle for our cities and our region. Fifty thousand people cross each day here (between Brownsville and Matamoros, back and forth. We all have family that lives on the other side, that go back and forth. We have businesses on both sides. My dad did, and currently does. So I understand the importance of international trade and what we can do together.
Yes, there are challenges. There is a misconception about the border. There's a misconception about the relationship between our two countries. I think we have a very, very strong relationship and friendship. We need to continue to spread that message that we are strong, that we are committed to work together. And I think what you're doing today is a strong statement to the world that we are here to work together and to promote this region and to unlock, and continue to unlock our potential.
So I congratulate you for doing this. This is a big deal. I encourage you to continue the momentum, continue to be a voice. I think as realtors, you guys are an enormous asset for us as a city. You guys are the front lines, you have your fingers on the pulse of our economy. You know what people are looking for. You know the challenges that they're having. And sometimes that feedback doesn't get to me or to the city commission.
I think that having this live communication is really important. So I just I continue to just stay engaged. You know, normally when I'm here, I feel like this is where you guys have your debates for elections and I get nervous. But it's great to be here. I look forward to continuing our conversation. And again, thank you guys. God bless you all, and God bless the City of Brownsville.
Editor's Note: The above remarks were made by Brownsville Mayor John Cowen, Jr., at a Binational Forum hosted by the Brownsville-South Padre Island Board of Realtors and held at the Brownsville-SPI Board of Realtors Event Room in Brownsville on August 6, 2026.
