MCALLEN, Texas — As the Rio Grande Valley experiences unprecedented industrial expansion and international attention, local leaders are stressing that regional branding and domestic reinvestment must go hand in hand to capture long-term economic gains.
Brian Godinez, CEO of McAllen-based ERO Architects, credits regional advocacy group RioPlex with unifying the four-county area — Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr, and Willacy — under a cohesive brand that appeals to global investors, developers, and trade delegations.
"RioPlex has got its pulse on how to effectively brand this region," Godinez said, in an exclusive video interview with the RGG Business Journal. "It is bringing good conversations about commercial and industrial opportunities and our development along the border, specifically close to all of the different ports of entry."
For Godinez, the organization's work extends beyond international trade missions. A major benefit of the RioPlex coalition, which brings together developers, bankers, contractors, and design professionals, is its emphasis on promoting home-grown talent and businesses on both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border.
Here is the video interview:
Reflecting on the factors driving the Valley’s momentum, Godinez identified three major catalysts over the past 10 to 15 years that fundamentally altered the region’s economic trajectory:
"I love what is happening in Cameron County," Godinez noted. "With SpaceX, LNG, the oil refinery that's coming, and now with Saronic... I just can't believe the growth potential and the economic impact."
Godinez highlighted how this rapid industrial expansion creates direct opportunities for career and technical education (CTE) programs across local public school districts, community colleges, and universities. As secondary schools adjust curricula for aerospace, maritime operations, and autonomous vehicle manufacturing, local students gain direct pipelines into high-skill, high-wage jobs right in their hometowns.
The influx of major industry and out-of-region capital has brought challenges, including rising residential real estate prices across Cameron and Hidalgo counties. Addressing concerns from local residents seeing housing costs surge in cities like Harlingen and Brownsville, Godinez drew a parallel to Central Texas's trajectory decades ago.
"It happened to Austin 40 years ago, and the same thing could be happening here," Godinez said. "Every community that gets this kind of economic infusion, it just trickles down into cost of living increases and housing increases."
However, Godinez emphasized the silver lining of an expanding tax base: enhanced public services and long-overdue infrastructure funding.
"That means there's more taxes into the community," he said. "Public service increases, infrastructure needs increase. We might be able to eventually solve our drainage issues and our roadway issues."
A central priority for Godinez is encouraging public institutions, school boards, and private developers to prioritize local architects, engineers, and general contractors rather than outsourcing projects to firms in San Antonio, Houston, or Austin.
He noted that more than 2,000 private-sector entities — ranging from architects and engineers to trade contractors — operate in the Valley's $15 billion-plus design and construction sector.
"Our firms here, all our brothers and sisters in construction, are highly qualified and do incredible work," Godinez said. "But the most important thing is what happens when that money goes into a local bank. That's a multiplier effect."
When local firms handle major projects, payroll dollars remain within the community — flowing into local banks, supporting employee home purchases, generating sales tax, and strengthening the tax base that funds local schools and municipal services.
"I always ask a public entity or a private entity: ask the entity you're about to hire where they actually deposit their check," Godinez said. "If they deposit it in a local bank, great, because then the money stays here, multiplies, and gets invested here. That's what I mean by hiring local: follow the money."
