Brownsville Port Opens New Administrative Building

by Tony Vindell/LFN

If it wasn’t for the Port of Brownsville, the jobs situation in Cameron County and the Rio Grande Valley would be a lot of different.

Since its creation in 1936, the deep water port has been a source of income for thousands of people and more jobs are on the horizon as the facility has gotten a new contract that is expected to create hundreds of new and good paying jobs.

Business has been on the rise. Tonnage is up. New tenants keep coming in. Some 7,400 people work at the port on a daily basis.

And officials said more than 44,000 indirect jobs are tied to the port businesses.

In late October, port officials unveiled a new administration office complex that will last for years to come.

The 21,816-square-foot, $5.4 million building was the result of remodeling two existing structures and a brand new one.

Ed Campirano, the port director, said building the new complex will take the port into another era.

“This is a great occasion for us and for everybody else,” he said. “This new facility, speaks for the past, the present and the future.”

John Reed, the board president, said the BND headquarters was built by retrofitting two existing buildings and by making an addition with adding a new structure.

He then talked about the thousands of jobs the port has generated over several decades.

“This building is symbolic,” he said, “but what is more important is the job creations.”

Port commissioner Ralph Cowen said the money to build the administration building was the result of saving $40,000 a week for several years.

During a speech he made before a large crowd, he said the port has been a pivotal part of the region for job creation.

”We have taking thousands of people out of poverty and into prosperity,” he said. “That is what the port is all about.”