| McAllen’s Downtown in the Heart of the City: A Trendy Place to Be |
With the coming of the new millennium, McAllen’s civic leaders realized that there were changes in the downtown dynamic that had to be addressed. The development of suburban shopping centers and offices had resulted in some decline of the downtown McAllen area. On the other hand, it was realized that there continued to be a continuous flow of Mexican shoppers and a potential to optimize the downtown area for modern urbanization.
The city of McAllen embarked on the “Heart of the City” concept
as a long-term plan to revitalize the inner city. The key policies and
goals included: improving parking and transportation, maintaining a variety of retail mix, encouraging housing development, making provisions for “green” land use, and encouraging art, music, and culture within the downtown.
The much-anticipated 5-story downtown-parking garage, which accommodates 438 parking spaces and will hold restaurants and shops opened in January of 2008. This has helped to alleviate the shortage of parking space available downtown.
The El Rey Theater has been completely restored and is recognized as a pioneer cultural treasure to McAllen. It has now become not only a place to view culture but has also become a frequent local for social functions.
Wide sidewalks, abundant shade and the placement of many benches in the cosmopolitan mix of bars, restaurants, and retail stores has made the downtown area that is not only appreciated by the Mexican shoppers who come to the downtown via the modern bus terminal on 15th street but also is drawing more and more suburbanites. Here are some interesting numbers from Heart of the City for McAllen’s Downtown in 1 year: More than 1.5 million shoppers come to shop in the area via the bus terminal spending millions of dollars, 5.6 million pedestrians walking the sidewalks, 2.3 million different employees, 140,000 visitors to the Mexican
Consulate, and 3,600 jury pool servers.
It is not unusual for find a group of suburban nurses, housewives, or businessmen having a lunch or dinner in the downtown area. Concerts, social events, and other activities are on the increase. The improved lighting and the presence of extra police patrols have resulted in an 18% reduction in crime over the past three years.
I spoke with Joe Rodriquez, the Director for the Heart of the City,
about the downtown area. He says that at least 8 new restaurants will be opening in the downtown area between 15th street and Austin Street. The city has facilitated the opening of new businesses by making for special permitting within the Heart of the City area. Cooperation between the City of McAllen, local banks, McAllen Chamber of Commerce, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has all helped to make for rapid growth.
McAllen’s Downtown is certainly a trendy and smart place to be. by TM
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