BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Brian Godinez is CEO of ERO Architects, the largest architectural firm in the Rio Grande Valley.
The 25-year-old company recently celebrated the expansion of its new Brownsville office.
In an exclusive interview with the RGG Business Journal, Godinez discussed ERO's expansion in the lower Rio Grande Valley, its growth, vision, and mission statement. He pointed out ERO is the largest architectural firm in the Valley.
"We're really excited about our presence there (in Brownsville). We believe that Brownsville may be the hottest market in the state right now in terms of real estate growth, population growth, public service growth. So we're glad to be there," Godinez said.
"Our office is a block away from city hall and a couple of blocks away from the county courthouse."
Among the government buildings ERO has designed are the McAllen Performing Arts Center, the Edinburg ACE Building, and the new Hidalgo County Courthouse.
Asked if ERO is growing, Godinez said: "We had our best year last year. We're hoping to have an even better year this year. So, yes, we've got plans for future expansion north of us... the San Antonio area. We just hired somebody to run our San Antonio office, and so we're going to be expanding there as well.
"So, yes, the answer is that we're doing well, and we are fortunate to be involved in many communities and institutions, both on the private side and the public side, that trust us to be able to deliver good architectural design and work."
Asked what the economic climate of the Valley is right now, Godinez said: "Hot is the one word I think about. The population continues to grow... that means that there's going to be more public service requirements and facilities. What I'm really excited about is what's going on in the commercial side. The fact is that we're seeing more retail, more commercial, more logistics in this area.
"The logistics side, I think, is continuing to grow as our bridge expansions continue in the Pharr-McAllen area. And what Brownsville is doing, it just means that there's going to be more investment, more industry coming here and focusing on our binational assets that we have here to lure investment and grow our talent and grow our businesses."
Asked to speak specifically about Brownsville, Godinez said: "Obviously, with SpaceX, and what SpaceX is doing, what the LNG is doing now, we've got maybe the world's largest oil refinery that's being built, and the City of Brownsville with that renaissance downtown revitalization plan that they're doing... the city services facility side is growing. There are a lot of capital projects that are coming up... (it all means) attraction for investment into the region. The GBIC organization there has got big strategic plans that they're doing and developing for the area. They've got big announcements coming from what I understand."
Godinez continued: "Between the McAllen-Brownsville areas, this area is just exciting to be in, and I'm very fortunate to have an architectural firm that has been participating for 25 years as part of the growth. Our vision is connected communities. And it's clear that all the communities up and down this region are connecting more and more and running and working as one, I like that."
The RGG Business Journal met with Godinez at a recent strategic leadership meeting of RioPlex. ERO is a member of RioPlex. The meeting took place at the Texas National Bank offices in Brownsville.
Godinez said it was great to learn about everything happening at the Port of Brownsville and to know RioPlex would adopt a Code of Excellence for its members.
Here is the interview:
