Business View Magazine | August 2019

333 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019 SAN BENI TO, TEXAS the second floor. And more are being encouraged. San Benito works closely with Cameron Workforce Solutions and Texas State Technical College (on the northeast side of the city near the Harlingen Airport) to provide a skilled labor force for the various industries it’s looking to recruit to the community. Skilled trades courses are also available at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley campus in Brownsville, a 20-minute drive away. As for its housing inventory, San Benito has been approving plats for the last two years that include residential. Most are from 20 to 40 homes. The homes are averaging around the $140,000 mark for a base price. The cost of living in the area is an attraction, in itself. For $160,000, you can purchase a very attractive, 3-bedroom, 2-bath, brick veneer home. “We are also home to the Fun-N-Sun Resort,” says De La Rosa. “It’s one of the largest RV parks in Texas. I’ve been recruited as a judge for their Mardi Gras in February and they’re a very happy-go-lucky, over-55 group. We call them our winter Texans – they’re not only good for our economy, but for the whole region. They have a large community center of their own and host a lot of parties, but all the supplies come from local vendors. The place is well manicured, they have their own security, it’s a town within a town. They create a lot of activity which generates traffic for us.” Luis Contreras, San Benito’s Cultural Arts Director, chimes in on tourism as a growing economic driver. “We cater to visitors with a lot of festivals and museums. Along with the new San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum, we have the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Freddy Fender Museum, and an up-and-coming San Benito Cultural Arts Center. That Center and the Cultural Heritage Museum promote travelling exhibitions in art, science, and culture that have drawn people from across Texas. “Our music community is very large – we are the home of conjunto music, which is an accordion- based mix of German polkas and Musica Ranchera (the ranch music in Mexico). It’s a lot of fun and it belongs to San Benito. The city created the