Edinburg is a vibrant city known for its medical centers, hospitals, higher education, and continuous development. With renowned institutions like the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), South Texas Health System (STHS), and Doctors Hospital at Renaissance (DHR), the city has developed into a prominent urban center.
The Edinburg Economic Development Corporation supports the city’s businesses and is dedicated to making dreams of progress a reality. It provides monetary funds, workforce development, land allocation, and guidance to the city’s businesses, fostering comprehensive economic growth.
Edinburg’s industry was once composed of a booming agricultural sector defined by the growth and harvest of citrus in the fertile lands of the Rio Grande Valley. However, it now accommodates diverse enterprises with growing knowledge-based industries. Given its place as the Hidalgo County seat, it also features the government sector.
“The different types of businesses are health care, produce and food processing, logistics, warehousing and government. We still have an agricultural component here, but it’s much smaller than it used to be,” said Raudel Garza, Executive Director for the Edinburg EDC.
Garza explains that the current industrial landscape is predominantly defined by the healthcare industry, the city’s largest employer. This industry is expected to grow, promoting one of the Edinburg EDC’s underlying goals — job growth.
“We want to continue to grow high-paying jobs. A lot of that is going to come in the form of the health care sector. DHR has over 6,000 employees in the city of Edinburg. Then, the South Texas Health System hospitals have well over 3,200 employees and Driscoll Children’s Hospital has about 1,000 employees.”
To sustain the growth of the health care industry, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine was founded in 2013. Alongside South Texas College, it will provide the region with the medical expertise necessary to support its medical institutions.
“Not only are we graduating a lot of doctors in this area, but we’re also making sure that those doctors are supported by very well-trained nurses and other allied health professions.”
According to Garza, Edinburg’s success as a place for diverse businesses is due to its location, accessibility, and education. The city has prime access to I-69, which makes it ideal for warehousing and logistics. Moreover, UTRGV ensures the output of specialized professionals to serve the industry’s knowledge requirements.
The Edinburg EDC actively engages with the region’s schools to ensure businesses have the talent they need to operate.
“We’ve done some workforce development and workforce training grants. We will match up with South Texas College or another industry education provider to help train the workforce for specific companies that are being recruited or for companies that are looking to expand.”
A challenge to Edinburg’s economic growth is the lack of building space, which Garza states is insufficient to attract large businesses.
“We have a lot of land, but we don’t have a lot of buildings. Most of the buildings that we have are either old or too small to attract the larger companies. That’s why we created an industrial spec building program to attract those developers who are willing to put up 100,000 or 200,000 square feet of industrial space.”
More of Edinburg EDC’s efforts to promote industry growth are at North Industrial Park, Renaissance Industrial Park, and Owassa Industrial Park. These parks are on-land allocated and optimized for business use, serving industries such as logistics and manufacturing, and have successfully advanced the city’s industry. While the other industrial parks are fully developed, North Industrial Park still has some land available.
In the future, the Edinburg EDC wants to continue enacting progress in Edinburg, continuing with projects to vitalize the economy. Edinburg EDC is currently working with the South Texas International Airport to promote a longer runway, more hangar space, and more maintenance facilities, preparing the airport for increased use.
