VTX Communications Buildings – Brownsville, Weslaco, & Edinburg
VTCI Corporate Office – Raymondville
Boggus Stadium Improvements – Harlingen
Valley International Airport Jetway Electrical Upgrades – Harlingen

• TS Tech of North America
• PETCO at RGV Shoppes
• Elsa WTP Generator
• Aaron’s – San Juan
• Edinburg Solar Street Lights Project

• Freebirds World Burrito
• Point Isabel Baseball Field
• Offices for Rio Arch, Inc.
• GE Aviation Annex Building

“38 Years of Experience & Customer Service”

Brownsville’s new transit terminal nears completion
August 27, 2011 8:06 PM
By STEVE CLARK/The Brownsville Herald

Construction on the city’s new bus terminal is only about six weeks behind schedule, with a “soft” opening likely in mid- or late October and the grand opening slated for February, according to Norma Zamora, director of Brownsville Metro, formerly Brownsville Urban System.

The new terminal, dubbed “La Plaza at Brownsville,” is located between East Adams and East Jefferson, and International Boulevard and East 13th Street downtown. It will replace Market Square as Brownsville’s main bus terminal.

“I would say it’s probably about 95 percent done at this point,” Zamora said. “Right now they’re working on the street construction. We’re going to be converting the streets from asphalt to concrete (around the terminal). Right now they’re finalizing road construction on Adams.”

East Jefferson will close immediately after Labor Day and should reopen the first week of October. The terminal project includes a new 252-space parking garage at 14th and Adams that officials are counting on to generate significant revenue. The terminal is costing $31 million to build and the parking garage another $5 million, Zamora said. Federal funds covered 80 percent of the cost of design, land acquisition, demolition and construction. The city of Brownsville and the Brownsville Public Utilities Board put up the remainder. Zamora said money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — the stimulus act — were vital to getting the project done.

“We’ve had to look for some money elsewhere, it but it got us to really close to getting this project complete,” she said. “We’re still negotiating some (local) funding, but we hope to get all that resolved within next couple weeks.”

As the number of city buses and fixed routes has grown over the years, Market Square has become increasingly congested. Brownsville Metro, with 19 buses in operation on 15 routes, has experienced a 9 percent increase in ridership since last year. Annual ridership, which had earlier suffered a drop, should be back up to around 1.5 million or 1.6 million for the current fiscal year, Zamora said.

In addition to the local bus service and regional bus service, La Plaza was designed to accommodate and is expecting 14 intercity and international bus lines — including several that don’t currently serve the city. Zamora said those projections haven’t changed, despite violence-related issues with traveling in Mexico.

The terminal also includes space for restaurants and retailers. Zamora said Brownsville Metro and the assistant city attorney are negotiating contracts with two chain restaurants that want to open locations in the terminal. She thinks the new facility will help jump-start downtown from an economic development perspective.

“I believe this will be the catalyst that downtown needs to generate revitalization,” she said.

Brownsville Urban System, now Brownsville Metro, was formed in 1979 when the city of Brownsville acquired Brownsville Transportation Company, the last privately owned urban public transit system in the state.

VTX Sites – Lyford, Santa Rosa, Falfurrias, TX

Mission Regional Cath Lab – Mission, TX

Willacy County Generators – Port Mansfield, Sebastion, & Lasara, TX

Hidalgo Lift Station Generators – Hidalgo, TX

La Feria Dentist Office – La Feria, TX

Bass Pro Shops gives local contractors business
August 08, 2011 9:32 AM
By DANIELLE ALTENBURG/ The Brownsville Herald

HARLINGEN — Half of the subcontractors building the multimillion-dollar, 150,000-square-foot Bass Pro Shops store are from the Rio Grande Valley or have offices here.

Of 20 subcontractors hired by Bass Pro for the job, 10 are located in cities from Harlingen to McAllen.

These businesses are building and installing everything from concrete sections, flooring and roofing to lighting and air conditioning.

One local subcontractor is Harlingen-based Commercial Plumbing & Mechanical Contractors.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to have the contract,” owner Jo Rae Wagner said.

Wagner’s company is working on the plumbing from beginning to end. She said the company is installing piping, water and waste systems and putting all fixtures in.

Also on the job is Marek Brothers Systems, which has an office in Harlingen as well as other Texas cities.

Marek Brothers project manager Arthur Holmes said he has local workers from areas including Harlingen and Brownsville on this project. He said he probably has 70 workers at the site on any given day. He said the project is helping the local economy by giving all of these men jobs and keeping food on their tables.

They are working on drywall, interior metal framing and more.

Bass Pro is working under a construction allowance that is an even $31 million, said Bill Martin, CEO of the Harlingen Economic Development Corporation. The EDC, which is financing the construction project, has issued bonds in that amount to be paid off over 21 years.

Bass Pro would not release a dollar amount for how much out of the construction allowance is being paid to local contractors.

Aside from Bass Pro, the EDC and city of Harlingen hired local contractors for their portions of construction.

The EDC hired all local contractors, also from Harlingen to McAllen, for the parking lot, utility improvements including water and sewer lines, the building pad and landscaping. Originally, the EDC had budgeted $4.33 million for these items. But it had to increase that amount to $5.35 million because of an engineering error on the parking lot, EDC officials have said.

The landscaping contract was awarded by the EDC to the lowest bidder, Green Thumb Landscaping, which has an Edinburg office, for $200,905.

The city hired the lowest bidder, McAllen Construction, to build a street connecting Dixieland Road to Spur 54, to build water and sewer lines separate from the EDC’s part, a large drainage system and street and traffic lights for $2.76 million.

In addition to local construction contractors, Tejas Equipment Rental from San Benito has provided machinery on a daily basis. According to the EDC, this costs anywhere from $500 to $2,000 per month.

“We like to keep as much local as we can,” Bass Pro Shops spokesperson Katie Mitchell said. “We believe in giving back to the community we are a part of. Local contractors are best able to serve the needs of that particular area.”

Bass Pro will be holding a job fair Aug. 15-17 at the Harlingen Community Center from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. to hire people to work in the store, grill and bowling alley. Mitchell said they are looking to hire anywhere from 300 to 350 employees to fill full- and part-time positions.

Panda Express – Harlingen, TX
Best Buy Mobile Sunrise Mall – Brownsville, TX
Robert E. Lee Solar Lights – Edinburg, TX

Call Center – Edinburg, TX
CAT’s Stadium – Edinburg, TX
Sharyland ISD Bldg 200 – Mission, TX
Southeastern Freight Lines – Weslaco, TX
Doctors Hospital at Renaissance Endo Recovery Addition – Edinburg, TX