Data center proposed inside former Walmart near Port of Brownsville

The Rio Grande Valley is on track for a second data center if a new developer is successful. 

There are plans for a data center on a 32-acre lot with a 265,000-square-foot former Walmart retail store near the Port of Brownsville and Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport, according to a zoning and planning commission notice sent to residents and posted on social media. 

There’s a public hearing about the project scheduled for August 6 at 5:30 p.m. at Brownsville City Hall to consider the developer’s application. 

A copy of the developer’s application and related ordinance for the data center was not immediately available on July 17. The document is expected to be posted on Brownsville’s agenda website in the coming weeks, before the August meeting. 

There’s been pushback from local residents over a proposed data center in Cameron County, just outside the city of Harlingen, for months. City leaders issued a moratorium on data centers, but the move does not affect the county property. Harlingen Water Works, in particular, inked a deal with Eneus, the data center developer, for millions of gallons of reclaimed water for the project. 

In Brownsville, the Brownsville Public Utilities Board would be responsible for providing electricity and water for any proposed data center. It was not immediately clear whether the utility has planned for an uptick in water and electricity use. Data centers usually use diesel generators as backup power in the event of a storm or outage. Brownsville has also invested in expanding its fiber internet infrastructure in recent years, which data centers require as well. 

The developer is seeking a specific use permit in a zoning district designated as a regional center for a data center. The Class B building was constructed in 2004 and renovated in 2018. It has a massive parking lot with more than 1,200 parking spaces. 

The property has been listed for sale or lease by Coldwell Banker Commercial Rio Grande Valley, which estimates that the total population within a 5-mile radius of the property is about 130,400, with an average household income of $63,661. 

The property was appraised at $10 million for tax purposes in 2026. It has been owned by Randr Ventures LLC since 2018, when it was renovated as a children’s shelter. Randr Ventures is owned by Mohamed Ryad Bakalem and Rafael Chacon of Olmito, Texas, records show. 

The property sits along Ruben Torres Boulevard and E 14th Street, which turns into South Padre Island Highway, or Texas Highway 48, and was most recently rented by Southwest Key Programs Inc., a shelter for immigrant children seeking asylum. 

Southwest Key Programs lost its federal contract in recent months and laid off hundreds of workers in late 2025. Southwest Key Programs once operated more than a dozen sites for unaccompanied minors, mainly in Brownsville. There’s an entire portfolio of Southwest buildings for sale across the U.S. Mexico border and mostly in the Rio Grande Valley. 

In July 2024, the Biden administration filed a federal lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs, alleging sexual abuse of children. In March 2025, the Trump administration revoked the nonprofit’s federal contracts and dismissed the lawsuit.