Year in Review: An interview with San Benito EDC President Julian Rios

SAN BENITO, Texas - At a recent holiday season open house, the Rio Grande Guardian interviewed San Benito Economic Development Corporation President Julian Rios. “Our main focus is downtown but we are seeing San Benito is growing outside of the downtown area,” Rios said. “We are a small, family-oriented city but we are ready for that expansion into large, big box retail.”Rios said he is hopeful that San Benito will benefit from SpaceX’s rocket launches at Boca Chica. He believes there is a lot of potential for more residential development spurred on by the growth of the space industry in the lower Rio Grande Valley. And, he said, retail development, invariably follows residential development. “We need to tap into SpaceX,” he said. Asked about sprucing up his city’s downtown, Rios said the big challenge will be to create more parking spaces. “Some buildings need a lot of work. We have facade improvement grants.”Rios said he is proud the EDC was able to provide extended rent subsidies to small businesses impacted by the pandemic.Editor's Note: To read the full story go to the Rio Grande Guardian website.Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.