UTSA center tackles economic challenges facing South Central Texas

Joseph Morones, project manager for the UTSA Business and Community Resilience Center, was a presenter at the 2024 Small Cities Coalition conference.

MARCH 26, 2025 — A UTSA center aims to help reverse some of the hardest-hitting economic challenges in South-Central Texas, including brain drain — the pernicious trend of skilled professionals leaving a region in favor of larger cities — and related issues such as falling wages and a lack of infrastructure, jobs and workforce training.

The UTSA University Center, which is part of the Jude Valdez Institute for Economic Development at UTSA (VIED), is dedicated to fueling economic growth and resilience in underserved communities across the region by providing no-cost technical assistance, training and resources to local Councils of Governments (COGs). It helps them develop and deploy strategies tailored to their communities through collaboration with local government and business leaders. Some of the center’s most sought-after services include helping local governments develop strategic plans for growth as well as identifying and targeting grants that will help realize their vision.

Melisa Gonzales is the assistant director for community and economic development at the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council, which serves Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy Counties. One of her key goals is to strategically grow industry in her region.

“When small communities don’t have a plan that everyone agrees on, they’re flying by the seat of their pants,” Gonzales said. “Small communities often have no set plan, or sometimes there’s a plan but people aren’t all on board with it so it’s not being implemented consistently.”

“Along with talent, we see key resources going to larger cities. We’re trying to turn the tide on some of these trends by providing local governments with the tools needed to create conditions that attract entrepreneurs and business owners.”

Brownsville recently became home to SpaceX headquarters, which generated more than 21,000 indirect jobs in Cameron County.

The cost of creating a strategic growth plan can be prohibitively high for small communities. When Gonzales approached a consultant out of Dallas to create such a plan, it quoted her $85,000.

“That’s for a community of only 19,000 people. Small communities can’t afford that,” she said.

Yet, Gonzalez believes that a plan can be pivotal for small communities striving to grow.

“The City of Alton is a great example,” she said. “It’s a small community that sits on Interstate 2 that designed an economic development plan. Their location is primed for growth; they developed a corporation to bring economic development, and that little town is possibly the greatest economic success story for small communities. Because they had a plan that their mayor and EDC board could all agree on, they could develop rapidly.”

In 2021, the town reported a population growth of 47.5% between 2010 and 2020. Leaders also reported an uptick in building permits.

Gonzales also organizes to attract new businesses to her region. In 2013, she and her Regional Economic Development colleagues helped mobilize local government and communities across the Rio Grande Valley region to attract SpaceX to Brownsville, generating an estimated 21,400 indirect jobs in Cameron County.

“The whole region had to come together to show all the resources and infrastructure we have to offer,” she said. “Without the collaboration of the surrounding counties, we couldn’t have done it.”

Joseph Morones, project manager for UTSA’s center, says that neighboring communities are grappling with similar issues.

“We see some shared challenges across the region,” he said. “Wages are lower than national averages, which discourages trained professionals and particularly younger professionals from settling in and investing in these areas. Along with talent, we also see key resources going to larger cities. We’re trying to turn the tide on some of these trends by providing local governments with the tools needed to create conditions that attract entrepreneurs and business owners. Our goal is to bring prosperity back into these areas.”

Gonzales started collaborating with Morones in spring of last year with a focus on strategic and collaborative development. Morones began by giving presentations to promote the center’s services.

Since those initial touchpoints, Morones has done extensive work in the area, providing consultation and technical assistance to key influencers across the region about grant applications and planning.

“I’ve been talking to small community stakeholders, giving them guidance and making complex grants more understandable,” Morones said. “If they have the ability to adapt by pursuing funds and plan strategically, they will be able to grow, thrive and adapt with the times.”

In Edcouch, Morones has helped the city explore options for funding to improve its water treatment plant to manage growth. In Sullivan City, he helped create a traffic pattern and property ownership map, which can help policymakers attract retailers by identifying the busiest — and most viable — places to set up shop.

The center will continue to serve South Central Texas with funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce - Economic Development Administration that extends through 2028.

Morones has been actively collaborating with two COGs in the region and is in initial discussions with additional COGs across South Texas.

“We hope to collaborate with all seven COGs to solve critical issues facing the region,” Morones added. “The more COGs engage with us, the more impact we can make.”

— Audrey Gray