Brownsville’s industrial pipeline drives growth, jobs, and infrastructure pressure

Major economic development projects in Cameron County, from a new oil refinery to a potential autonomous vessel shipyard, were highlighted during the city of Brownsville’s State of the City address on Wednesday night. 

That includes the America First Refining Company’s estimated $3 billion to $4 billion project, which could bring 500 jobs that pay higher than average salaries. Plus, the defense contractor Saronic’s $3.2 billion next-generation shipyard, which is expected to hire 10,000 workers — also with high-paying jobs. 

Those multibillion-dollar investments are just the latest projects for the community as rocket manufacturer SpaceX and two LNG export terminals — Rio Grande LNG and Texas LNG Brownsville — are moving forward, adding thousands of additional jobs. 

In total, city leaders project there will be 17,000 new jobs created in the next five years. 

They also estimated the city has seen $80 billion in economic impact and $30 billion in capital investment by companies in the region.

“What’s most inspiring about right now is to me, it’s just about opportunity,” Brownsville Mayor John Cowen Jr. said. “I think we’ve had generations where we’ve had a lack of private investment coming here. And for generations…our best and brightest had to leave the area for better paying jobs. Now those jobs are being created right here and it’s driving all sorts of growth.”

But with such big changes there are growing pains. For example, most projects are outside Brownsville’s city limits, meaning property taxes generated after incentive agreements expire flow to the county, school district, and port—not the city.

Any annexation that would allow the city to expand its landmass must be voluntary, requiring approval from a majority of property owners and voters in the area under state law. That’s still happening, but more so in the form of master planned developments, especially on the city’s north side. 

Instead, Brownsville is likely to gain thousands of new residents who will be working for these companies and thousands more temporary construction workers building these facilities. So the city is facing a future with increased infrastructure cost with a property tax base that could be outpaced by demand for services. To meet increased public needs, Brownsville has its $357 million capital plan, with $250 million allocated for modernization of its roads and infrastructure. 

The growing industrial base is prompting new subdivisions, master planned communities, two new organic food grocery stores, a new Amazon warehouse, several hotels, including one with conference space, and a reinvestment of the city’s downtown. 

On the horizon, one project to watch is the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s consideration of a 60-acre expansion on the north side of Brownsville.

There’s a growing fiber internet network — run by OmniFiber in partnership with the city — with more than 6,400 residential and commercial customers.

“This is supporting remote work, education, telehealth, businesses and fueling economic growth,” Cowen said. 

The city is also investing in its own private 5G network for its city infrastructure that leverages artificial intelligence, he said. 

There’s another infrastructure demand that Brownsville’s mayor said he’s confident won’t be strained as massive industrial projects move forward — water. The proposed oil refinery alone could require about 17% of the city’s water supply. 

“We’re very fortunate to have an ample supply of brackish water,” Cowen said. “We’re using our desal plant, which provides 30% of our water currently, so we’re able to optimize and double that plant. That’ll essentially take care of our current needs.”

Beyond that, there’s plans for a new reservoir diverting water from the Rio Grande River which is currently flowing into the gulf, plus water reuse projects.

“There’s all these opportunities to ensure we have enough water for many, many years to come.”