PHARR, Texas - It has taken a few years of blood, sweat, and tears but stakeholders have finally been able to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for a million square foot warehouse and distribution facility in south Pharr.
The project has come about thanks to the Chowdary family, California-based Majestic Realty, and Pharr Economic Development Corporation. The tenants will be MasterBrand, which manufactures kitchen cabinets that sell in retail outlets such as Lowe’s and Home Depot.
The facility is being built on land owned by Dr. Kondapavuluru V. Chowdary of McAllen. It sits on the corner of Veterans Boulevard and Military Highway. In total, Majestic, the largest privately held industrial developer in the country, has 600 acres of land to develop. It has entered into an agreement with Dr. Chowdary to make it happen.
Al Sorrels, Majestic's senior vice president, explained why the project has taken so long. “This land, in fact all this area was, for generations, really for over a century, farmland. And anytime you're transforming farmland, from the standpoint of utilities, it takes time.”
Sorrels, who is based in Dallas, gave an interview to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service at the conclusion of the groundbreaking ceremony.
“Think about all the intricacies that are related to farming. When you're building a building like this, there's a lot of transformation that goes seen and unseen with a site like this. So visually and non-visually, there's a lot going on there. And the development of the (Pharr International) Bridge, the double span project, the redo of the U.S. side of the bridge, all that. That's something we've been kind of waiting on as well.”
While Majestic and the Chowdary family have wanted to develop for some time, MasterBrand’s involvement has been comparatively recent.
“This MasterBrand opportunity didn't come up until, really, a year ago,” Sorrels explained. “MasterBrand will have a building that is over a million square feet. They will be doing warehousing, distribution and some light assembly. It’ll be the largest building in the Rio Grande Valley, for sure, probably the largest building south of San Antonio.”
Asked what will be happening with the rest of the land, Sorrels said: “We have 600 acres here in partnership with the Chowdary family. So, we have plenty of room for other projects. Gosh, we can build. five, probably up to six million square feet of buildings here in total.”
Asked if the demand will be there for more industrial space, Sorrels said: We think so. We believe strongly in the border. We've got operations in Laredo and Otay Mesa, California. So we believe heavily in the border. We believe nearshoring is a real thing and it's going to just be more and more. So, yes, we believe there's going to be more and more maquiladora-type operations. So, we're very interested in this region. Hopefully the next groundbreaking ceremony is not too far away.”
Victor Perez, president of Pharr EDC, was the first speaker. In his remarks from the podium, Perez confirmed that the new industrial park has been in the works for some time.
“We've been working on this project for about six or seven years. It's about establishing relationships. It's about partnerships,” Perez said.
“When I heard that Majestic was going to partner up with Dr. Chowdary, I knew that this project would be a green light for everything that we've been working so hard on. It’s a big project. We're going to see this project all the way through, and make sure that there are no hiccups.”
Perez said new warehouse and distribution center is just the start.
“We have a lot coming, believe me. This is just the first project. I can tell you there's a lot more coming.”
Majestic’s Sorrels was the next speaker.
“I would like to thank our Lord above for giving us the strength and the resources and the opportunity here. So, I really do thank our Creator each and every day for the opportunities that he gives us,” Sorrels said.
“The City of Pharr and Pharr Economic Development Council, I thank you. We’ve had our push and pull, as you do on any project like this. For generations this has been a farming community, and when you're transforming what was meant to be farmland forever into something that is not farmland, it always presents its challenges. And any community that's growing like this is going to go through those growing pains.”
Sorrels also thanked Majestic’s partners on the project: Peinado Construction, Downs Design Solutions, Cardinal Industrial Real Estate Services, Artemis Real Estate Partners, CBRE, and Halff.
“We had to jump through a lot of hoops. Sometimes double back flips through a hoop on this thing,” Sorrels said. As you can imagine, there are a lot of intricacies that you face in a deal like this.”
Sorrels also thanked Luis Bazan, director of the Pharr International Bridge. Bazan was in the audience.
“Luis has been a great friend and advocate for this. Everything you guys are doing (in expanding the Pharr Bridge) is the engine behind all this. That is what is making this and many other developments happen.”
By way of example, Sorrels referenced the DAP (Donations Acceptance Program) 15 program, which allows municipalities and private entities to provide funding for projects at land ports of entry. He also said the redesign of the bridge on the U.S. side would help. And he mentioned the second span that is being developed for the Pharr Bridge.
Sorrels asked Bazan when the second span would be complete. Bazan replied, November 2025. “That will be a great catalyst (for future development),” Sorrels said. “We're going to steal all that business from Laredo.”
Sorrels also thanked Dr. Chowdary.
“My land partner on this that we mentioned before is the great Dr. Chowdary. Doc is a special guy, and we've been grinding on this thing for four years now or more. He’s gotten a million phone calls and emails from myself and Kyle, and he's always been there to support everything we were doing. He’s been patient and understanding. He's let me kind of stay in my lane. I'm not trying to be a gastroenterologist, and he hasn’t tried to be a real estate developer. I think the former is a lot more complicated than the latter. But I really appreciate you, Doc, and I really appreciate all your help, your family and everybody that's been involved here,” Sorrels said.
The “Kyle” Sorrels was referring to was Kyle O’Brien, development and marketing analyst for Majestic.
Looking to the future, Sorrels said that working with Carlos Telles of CBRE, Majestic will soon build a couple of spec buildings. He said these will be “hot on the heels of this great development.”
Sorrels continued: “We’ve got about 600 acres here, so this is not our first and last development. Please know that. We've got a couple of speculative buildings down here, buildings one and two, that we're planning to do as our first buildings on the heel of MasterBrand.”
Sorrels pointed to some artist renditions. “As you can see, we've got about six million feet we can build in this park.”
Sorrels concluded his remarks from the podium by promising that Majestic will be a great community partner.
“We feel like we're a partner with the entire Rio Grande Valley, and we're here to stay, and we're here to partner with the community, and we're going to give back to the community. We’re going to be involved,” he said.
The next speaker was Pharr City Commissioner Daniel Chavez. Chavez said the taxpayers of Pharr have invested a lot of money into developing the area around the Pharr International Bridge. He said Majestic’s project is a reward for that investment.
Chavez said the goal of city leaders is to have more housing in the area. “That's what we're looking for. More than just business, we're also looking to growing this side of Pharr into more rooftops as well,” he said.
The final speaker was Carlos Telles, first vice president broker in CBRE's McAllen office.
We're beyond excited about this. As Al mentioned, we've kind of been working on this for about four years. Maybe more. So, yes, it's good that it's finally happening, to see the ground moving,” Telles said.
“And it's a little more special in my case, because I'm a product of the city. I’m from Pharr. My family is from Reynosa, so I'm very familiar with the maquiladora industry. I know what its impact is, here on the northern side.”
Telles then told a story he said he had just shared with Bazan.
“I remember back in 1994. We’re invited to part of the marching band that performed at the bridge at its inauguration, when Governor Ann Richards came to see the event. Had you told me back in the day that a couple decades later, well, maybe more than a couple… but several years later, that was I was going to be standing in front of you to do this groundbreaking, I would not have believed it. No way. No, this goofy kid playing trombone. And now I’m a real estate agent in the middle of this private transaction. It’s beyond my wildest dreams.”
Telles said he is proud his hometown has become “a beacon of international trade.” He praised the leadership of the city.
“Everything that you do in terms of talking about the region is exactly what led to this to this point. The fact that you talk up the region as much as you do is what has allowed companies like Majestic, companies like Cardinal, to invest in the area. They open up the checkbook because they see that there's definitely potential. They want to be part of the growth of the community,” Telles said.
There was no representation from MasterBrand at the groundbreaking ceremony,
Editor's Note: Here is a video recording of Pharr EDC President Victor Perez's remarks from the podium:
Editor's Note: Here is a video recording of the remarks Majestic Realty's Al Sorrels made from the podium:
Editor's Note: Here is a video recording of the remarks Carlos Telles, first vice president broker in CBRE's McAllen office, made from the podium:
