RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas - The president of Starr County Industrial Foundation says she never would have believed that billion dollar investments in her community would become the norm.
But that is what is happening, said Rose Benavidez, in an exclusive interview with the RGG Business Journal.
“One of the things that we're really excited about is here is that in the next quarter, we're going to be able to announce an expansive retail development. And then, quite frankly, we have about another billion dollars worth of renewable energy that we're handling right now,” Benavidez said.
“Those numbers used to sound insane to us, but now it's kind of just the run of the mill for these projects.”
Benavidez was asked when she last thought billion dollar investments for Starr County were insane.
“Well, we've had about four and a half billion dollars of investment in the last ten years. I don't think I would have ever sat here with a straight face and thought those numbers were fathomable. But, like I said, we have had a billion dollars (in investment) in the last six months that has come to us.”
Benavidez said she wants these investment to translate into more opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors. “We feel very, very good about making that a reality for the people in this community.”
Asked about the timeline of the retail investment, Benavidez said: “Retail timeline is probably Q1 of ’26. Maybe Q2.”
There is a great aspiration for better paying jobs in Starr County, Benavidez said. “We've got a lot of people that go through our system at South Texas College as engineers, pre-engineers, as electricians, as welders, that currently have to go away to find a meaningful wage for their jobs.”
Benavidez said she is hoping a new partnership between STC and SpaceX in Cameron County will help address that.
“Tomorrow, we're making a trip to SpaceX to talk about a partnership between South Texas College and SpaceX to give those job opportunities to our local talent. I am really excited about what the future has to bring (our community). So, we're looking at economic development. We’re seeing that from all facets, not just brick and mortar.”
Here is the interview with Benavidez:
