The Rio Grande Valley is brimming with growth and there’s much more on the way.
Our region will see expenditures of $1.1 billion in state funds over the next decade for highway and mobility projects. Medical and education facilities are being built and expanded. Our communities across the map are seeing business and residential growth.
All of these investments – public and private – are providing great opportunities for local companies in our region to grow their businesses and hire more employees. We have a message in the midst of all of this activity – go RGV First.
This vision is an initiative of the RGV Partnership to further expand our regional economy. The RGV First program is a platform in encouraging public and private sector entities to contract local businesses as they plan, design, build and implement the services needed to make their projects a reality.
The Valley has developed a broad base of professional services across the industrial and construction fields. We see RGV First as a tool to encourage the utilization of local companies and services they provide as development ramps up in the Valley with the investments expected to flow into our region.
The fields of architecture, engineering and contractors, (AEC) have the local capacity and knowledge to handle the scope of public and private sector projects that will unfold in the Valley. The RGV First initiative will work with public entities in requesting incentives be utilized to call on local vendors and companies for their projects.
The recent announcement by the Texas Department of Transportation that it will spend over a $1 billion in our region for highway and mobility projects will provide great opportunities to go RGV First. The establishment of a single Metropolitan Planning Organization for the entire Valley sparked TXDOT to infuse a wealth of state funds into our region to improve our infrastructure and highways.
It’s now our challenge as a region to tap into these opportunities. The Partnership will work through the RGV First initiative to assist local companies as they vie for highway project business through the state’s procurement process. Going local means more of these state-provided funds are spent on the services provided by our Valley companies.
The abilities and know-how of our local entrepreneurs is demonstrated by the AON Group DBA Pieology Pizzeria. The Group exemplifies what RGV First is all about. They own and operates fast casual restaurants in Edinburg and soon in McAllen. The AON Group successfully negotiated with a national franchise in utilizing local companies and professional services in the planning, designing and building of his first restaurant. In signage, IT, banking and construction services, they insisted local companies be used over the out-of-area companies the franchise preferred.
That’s the spirit of RGV First and we will encourage more of that commitment to our local companies as we see a rise in the public and private investments made in the Valley. We need to capitalize on the opportunities coming before us and RGV First will strive to serve as a tool to grow our local businesses.
Think local first. Think RGV First.
It’s a win for everyone.
