Dr. Kondapavuluru V. Chowdary: A gastroenterologist turned land developer

PHARR, Texas – The landowner who went into partnership with Majestic Realty to in order to turn 600 acres of farmland into a huge industrial park south of Pharr has spoken about the project.

Dr. Kondapavuluru V. Chowdary, MD, attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a one million square foot warehouse, distribution, and light assembly facility that will be rented by MasterBrand.

The MasterBrand building, the largest warehouse south of San Antonio, will be the first to go up on the 600 acres. The land is located on the corner of S. Veterans Boulevard and Military Highway, close to the Pharr International Bridge.

“This is a proud day for me and my family. We’ve been at this project for five years, as of October,” Chowdary told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service. “The Majestic chairman, Mr. Roski came, and he toured this area. And the (Pharr) Bridge director (Luis Bazan) was good enough to take us across the bridge and showed him all the development happening here. And from that time onwards, the City of Pharr and Majestic they’re working hard.”

Edward P. Roski, Jr., is chairman of California-based Majestic Realty, the largest privately held industrial developer in their country.

Dr. Chowdary acknowledged that because his forte is medicine, not construction, he has been on a steep learning curve.

“I’m just a sideliner because I don’t have a whole lot of construction knowledge or development knowledge. I just happened to fall into this big developmental project, which is very nice, because the City of Pharr is very nice. They have been very good to me. The doctor (Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez) and I are friends, but our specialties were too far away from construction or development. He’s been joking with me, ultimately, we did make it,” Chowdary said.

“About three years ago, we donated about $400,000 to the city as a token of our generosity, for all their cooperation and whatnot. I told them, you can use the money as you please. And they were very happy with it. I’m very happy to be able to give that type of a donation to the City of Pharr.”

Chowdary said he has owned the land Majestic is developing for 22 years.

“We bought it as farmland. Even now, north and south of this land and to the east, it is still being farmed, as we speak. We have vegetables growing on those tracts of land that we’re not using for construction right now.”

Asked if he could ever have imagined industrial development on this scale occurring when he purchased the land, Chowdary said: “It’s beyond my dreams, honestly speaking. Maybe it is the good Lord’s work.”

Medical school battles

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Chowdary moved to the Rio Grande Valley in 1984 to practice gastroenterology in McAllen. He said the region has been good to him.

“The Rio Grande Valley has been extremely good to me over the last four decades. I love this area. I’m one of those who would say this is the best part of the country. Those are my sincere feelings. All my colleagues in the medical profession, they are fully aware of it, and they were telling me, hey, what are you doing, where are you going? I said, I don’t know. Let the Lord decide and pave the path for me. If he does it, that will be a good path for me to travel on.”

Chowdary trained to be a doctor in New York City. Before that he worked in Glasgow University Hospital in Scotland. “That was a phenomenal experience for me because Glasgow is the city that is well known for medical facilities and medicine.”

Chowdary retired recently as a medical doctor but in the last few months he has joined the faculty of UT-Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. “I am very happy to have joined the UTRGV medical school. It is a little bit away from this real estate business.”

Asked what he thought of the medical school, Chowdary said: “It IS excellent. We’ve been at it for a long time. I was one of the guys who proposed that we should have the medical school here 25 years ago. I worked with the politicians and the doctors to make it a reality. So, yes, I was one of those physicians who said we have to have a medical school.”

It was put to Chowdary that not all McAllen doctors wanted a medical school, back in the day. Some felt that if there were more doctors there would be less work to go around. Chopwdary said he remembers those battles well.

“I remember it very well. I myself, along with Dr Ramiro Casso and Dr. Lauro Guerra, who are both from here, secured the signatures of more than 75 physicians with specialty training and specialty practices. We wrote a letter to the Governor saying that the doctors who were opposing this medical school – in those days it was called the Regional Academic Health Center in Harlingen – that they were ill informed. That their conclusions were not solid. That their analysis did not comport with the progress of the area, and it did not comply with the benefits that the Regional Academic Health Center or medical school could bring it to this area.”

Chowdary said the City of Harlingen “jumped on that issue” and became the city most likely to land the medical school.

“They had a lobby man lobbying from Harlingen. They got the building over there. But further down the road, fortunately, we were able to get the medical school to UTRGV, here in Edinburg, which, of course, is in our backyard,” Chowdary said.

“Economically and educationally, this is the front yard and I’m really proud to have been involved in those battles. Some of my colleagues from those days who opposed the medical school, they would tease me. They would say, you are always at it. Yes, I would say, that’s the only direction you can take. You cannot go against development. You cannot go against the will and pressure of the people and their future. We have to be a part of it so we will be remembered in good terms.”

Chowdary said he was sad to lose his good friends, Dr Casso and Dr. Guerra. “The minute I came here, we became good friends. They were such sincere people who wanted the community development and the people to progress. I’m proud to have been their friend.”

Asked for any wrap-up remarks, Dr. Chowdary said: “This area has a lot to look forward to. It has a great future. And I’m proud to be part of it. My children went to UTRGV when it was called UT-Pan American. We believe in the local institutions, they’re as good or better than anything that you can find in far off places. That’s my cut.”

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