Renovations and rebranding at Brownsville's North Park Plaza

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — (ValleyCentral) Big changes are coming to North Park Plaza in Brownsville. Renovations have been going on for over 18 months, and another change includes a new name: Sabal Market Plaza.

This plaza has been a Brownsville staple since the 1970s, and it will now be a new shopping area featuring a music venue and more business spaces.

Matthew Lopez, the lead sales agent for OrigoWorks, the developer of this project.
He says this project has been in the works for several years. They began remodeling last spring and are working towards creating a new space that blends the center’s family-friendly roots with a fresh appeal to larger brands.

“We’ve catered to families for a while, and we’re trying to keep that identity, but we’re better able to serve the community, you know attracting these like regional and national tenants, and to be able to attract those tenants, we need to redevelop and kind of create a vision that they can see long-term.”

While some tenants feel positive about the changes, others see it as a challenge.

Melissa Castillo, owner of La Barra Del Taco, told ValleyCentral the construction has created a lot of confusion among customers. She says they are often unsure if businesses in the plaza are open or if they should avoid coming altogether because of the blocked entrances and dirt.

Karina Saldivar owns Amor y Pan. She says the limited accessibility has caused foot traffic to drop, along with sales. Some neighboring businesses have lost up to 60% of sales. However, their rent has gone up. While OrigoWorks has offered discounted prices for current tenants, their rates have still increased.

This project is expected to be completed this fall; however, Lopez says there is a possibility of delays as they try to get this plaza to reach its full potential for the community.