Peña: Pharr Connect Innovation Center will help Pharr residents become more digitally savvy

PHARR, Texas – The Pharr Connect Innovation Center opened May 28 and was renovated for Pharr’s IT department.

Pharr Connect previously had its staff in different locations making the department scattered, innovation and technology director, Jose Peña said.

“This facility is going to be able to bring us all under one roof,” Peña said. “Everybody will work together, get to know each other better and be able to provide a better service.”

The renovation also allowed Pharr Connect to hold its digital literacy program classes in the innovation center, instead of having staff drive to a separate location. Peña said with the new center they may be able to do multiple classes simultaneously and create more programs. Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas funded the digital literacy program, a three-year program expanding resident’s knowledge of technology, running since 2024.

“They have been very excited to see what we have done with it and now getting this facility to be able to accommodate more students and more training is one thing that they are very excited about and are looking forward to seeing,” Peña said.

The innovation center also hosts 15 PSJA student interns working a variety of jobs revolving around customer service, broadband also known as high-speed internet, and cybersecurity.

“Before, we were limited on space so sometimes the interns could not really work with all our different teams and that is one of those things that we are able to resolve with this building,” Peña said. “All our five divisions have a lot more functional workspaces for our interns to be able to rotate between all our different divisions that handle IT and hopefully, they will be able to learn a lot more now.”

Pharr Connect plans to set up its atrium as a “showroom” in the next three weeks for residents or businesses who would like to test its new business software, Peña said.

“Technology over 20 years has changed,” Peña said. “We really wanted to give it (the Pharr Connect Innovation Center) a modern face lift.”

The Greater Pharr Chamber issued this statement about the new center: “This newly renovated space is now the home of the IT Department and the central hub for Pharr Connect — our fast, reliable fiber internet service built for the future. But that’s not all. We’re excited to announce that a showroom is coming soon to this location. Residents and local businesses will be able to stop by, get connected, and experience the power of Pharr Connect firsthand.”

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