GBIC chairman gives overview of the Greater Brownsville Tech District

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Ankjaer Jensen, chairman of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, has given an update on the Greater Brownsville Tech District.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the district will take place on Wednesday, April 23, starting at 4:00 p.m. It is located on FM511/SH550 between Old Alice Road and Paredes Line Road.

Jensen spoke about the new industrial park in an exclusive podcast with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service. 

“We have two parks. We have North Brownsville Industrial Park, which is basically sold out. We don’t have any more (lots) there to sell. Companies… are building out there. We’ve got one, two, three, four major companies that have already built or have almost finished building out there, including a very large European company that is going to announce (soon)” Jensen said.

“And then we have 730 acres for a new industrial park. We call it the Brownsville Tech Park. Phase One, which is about 90 acres… we need to put roads in and get it ready. That’s quite a lot of work, but we’ve more or less got it booked before we get started. So that’s Phase One.”

Story continued:

As for Phase Two, Jensen said the City of Brownsville is looking to make use of it.

“We are starting Phase Two in probably 2026. We’re moving, we’re not holding back. We’re putting all our horsepower behind it.”

The Greater Brownsville Tech District will not have heavy industry, Jensen explained. He said when GBIC has enquiries about developing heavy industry project, it passes the leads to the Port of Brownsville.

“We’re not going to put smokestack manufacturing there. All of that stuff, we ship out to the Port, and we say, hey, we have a customer here, lease take him. They’ve got a good team out there and they take care of it. They’ve got a lot of stuff moving out there as well,” Jensen said.

Jensen said GBIC wants high tech industry in the new industrial park. He said some of the potential companies looking at the new park are in the Space industry. 

“We’ve got people that come in. They want to make drones and stuff like that, high tech stuff, and that would fit better in that part of the city. We don’t want smokestack,” Jensen said.

“They’re building a big residential area right next to it (the new industrial park). I don’t know how many, maybe a thousand houses. It’s called the Madeira development. They’re doing a great job. They’re moving it as well. And we can’t put a heavy industry right in the middle of this. We’re not going to. And besides, if you look at heavy industry, they will require two things that we don’t have too much of, water and electricity. So they are better suited in the industrial areas out at the Port.”

In his podcast with the Guardian, Jensen said great things are happening in Brownsville. He spoke about SpaceX and the liquefied natural gas export terminals being built at the Port of Brownsville. He also gave an overview of GBIC’s work.

“We have strong interest from multiple sectors, and the momentum is very, very real. At the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, or GBIC, we are focused on driving economic growth, creating quality jobs and attracting investment to Brownsville. We support a range of industries and work closely with partners, education, government and private sector to build a stronger, more competitive economy and create more jobs. Our mission is to prepare Brownsville for the future, whether it’s advanced manufacturing, logistics, Space or energy, by laying the right foundation for companies and workers alike.”

Jensen added: “That is our mission. That’s what we’re doing. Basically, at the end of everything, it is to create more jobs, good paying jobs for citizens.”

The post GBIC chairman gives overview of the Greater Brownsville Tech District appeared first on Rio Grande Guardian.