Villarreal: Brownsville can cope with its growing pains

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Brownsville City Commissioner Tino Villarreal says he is confident his community can cope with the growing pains associated with SpaceX’s expansion at nearby Boca Chica.

Villarreal spoke to reporters ahead of an eagerly awaited keynote presentation by Kathryn Lueders, general manager of SpaceX’s Starbase. With the help of a slide show and video, Lueders discussed SpaceX’s growth at a luncheon hosted by the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce.

Held at the Brownsville Events Center, the event was titled: “Bridging Borders & Beyond – The Impact of US-Mexico Relations and Space Exploration in the Rio Grande Valley.”

Asked how the City of Brownsville will work with SpaceX on mutually shared goals, Villarreal said:

“I think it’s vital to Brownsville. SpaceX is in our backyard, and most of the people who work in SpaceX are Brownsville residents. And we see an expansion coming. They just announced the headquarters moving here to Brownsville. So, part of Brownsville’s connection to that is quality of life, trying to create opportunities, and looking at the future and the needs that something that an entity like SpaceX is going to have. And having Brownsville be the forefront of that, not only as a city, but regionally as well. So, that’s why we’re also including Mexico and our region, our border town neighbors.”

Asked how Brownsville is working on addressing the growing pains that come with SpaceX’s presence, Villarreal said: including tax home valuation increases,

“I think the growing pains are inevitable, but we have a strong mayor and a great commission and what we’re trying to look at right now is Brownsville’s infrastructure. I think that’s the most important thing. It is getting our roads widened, expanded, for what we see as growth and potential growth.

“We know that we have our challenges when it comes to water. We’re looking at that as well, especially looking specifically, with our partners in Mexico, at how we can resolve that. We’re also looking at development. We need housing. We need affordable housing. We need Residential One housing, and we need warehousing. There are a lot of needs that Brownsville has, but we see that as an opportunity. We’re looking at (that) and we’re creating master plans, and we’re really taking a look at Brownsville’s growth, not just as a reactive but from a proactive standpoint.”

Asked what he hoped to learn from Lueders’ presentation, Villarreal said:

“Well, I’m hoping to learn what’s happening behind the scenes that we’re not privy to, that is not out on social media, that is not out in the media. (For example) SpaceX’s expansion, how they plan to look at investors, both local, regional and international, and how that can play a role in these plans that we have for the growth of the city of Brownsville.”

Asked what role SpaceX is playing in the local economy, Villarreal said:

“SpaceX is playing a vital role in the Brownsville economy, simply just by the amount of jobs that it offers to Brownsville residents. It (SpaceX) is increasing but it’s going to continue playing a much bigger role as it continues to expand. And so, we have to keep a close eye (on that) and together. We have to provide a great community for people to come live and work in and expand businesses in.”

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