Valdez: Mid Valley International Industrial Park will officially open this month

WESLACO, Texas – A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held Jan. 26 for one of the biggest economic development projects to come to Weslaco in years.

Weslaco Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Steve Valdez announced on social media that the eagerly awaited Mid Valley International Industrial Park will officially open on that day.

“We’re almost ready for the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony (Jan. 26, 10:00 am) for Weslaco’s second industrial park, the Mid Valley International Industrial Park,” Valdez wrote.

“Phase 2 includes the widening of Mile 9 Road and Phase 3 (includes) a new lift station to service a 600 acre radius area. Very exciting to be a part of Weslaco’s growth.”

Mid Valley International Industrial Park has been developed on the corner FM 1015 (International Boulevard) and Mile 9 Road (Sugarcane Drive). The development is a master-planned, 146-plus acre, industrial and retail subdivision. Once all the easements were cut and interior roads built, the actual buildable space was reduced to 122 acres.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the industrial part took place in October 2022.  It was then that the anchor tenant for the park was announced – Glazer Beer & Beverage. Glazer’s moved from their main distribution to Weslaco because they were landlocked in McAllen, with no room to grow. They built a 250,000 square foot building at the Mid Valley International Industrial Park and brought in 200 employees.

“Glazer’s picked the furthest lot in the back and the largest of all the lots, So we’re just elated. You have no idea, no idea how excited we are,” Valdez said at the time.

Valdez said that when coupling Glazer’s with another unnamed tenant that will utilize ten acres at the front of the industrial park, 35 percent of the available space has already been taken. 

Asked why it was being called the Mid Valley International Industrial Park, Valdez said: “We put ‘international’ in there is because we’re on International Boulevard  and we’re also an international corridor to the bridges in Progreso and Donna. And so it just seemed to fit.”

Valdez was asked why there is no much interest in companies developing their distribution centers in his city.

“I think the first thing is regional growth. We’re seeing it everywhere you turn. McAllen, Edinburg, Mission, Harlingen, Brownsville. Everybody’s growing together,” Valdez responded.

“Plus, I think because of our proximity to the center of the Valley… when you talk about Rio Grande City and Roma all the way to Brownsville… you could be in Weslaco and drive an equal distance to each end and that means a lot for those companies that want to have less wasted miles. They want to have access to their customers faster. And so the proximity, being located in the middle of the Valley, really means a lot more now.”

Valdez told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service that two other important factors are cooperation and relationships.

“One of the things that we have learned is the ability to work closer with so many important elements that… we’re not experts in being land developers but we’ve managed to align ourselves with many that are,” Valdez said. 

“And then, on top of that, the fact that we have such a good relationship with our city, our mayor, our commission… when we are able to make decisions together, it’s the best. It’s a cohesive, orderly amount of work that’s done between both EDC and the city that really does allow us to be here today.”