City of Elsa · Elsa Economic Development Corporation

Two partnerships. One community.

Investing in Edcouch-Elsa’s future — together.

01Pacific Trails Addition
Activating the EEISD walking trail & recreation area with the City of Elsa.
02The RISE Campus
One shared home for workforce training, dual credit & entrepreneurship.
Presented to the Edcouch‑Elsa ISD Board of Trustees · July 30, 2026
A partnership of the City of Elsa, the Elsa EDC, and Edcouch‑Elsa ISD · Daniel Rivera, Executive Director, Elsa EDC
1 / 13

Who we are

The Elsa EDC works to make Elsa — and the Delta — a better place to live, work, and play.

Everything we bring to this board ladders up to that. Tonight’s two proposals are the “play” and the “work.”

Live
A community people are proud to call home — safer, greener, and more connected.
Work
The RISE Campus — training, dual credit & entrepreneurship, so our people build careers here.
Play
Pacific Trails — an award-winning park system that makes Elsa a place families choose to stay.
Pacific Trails — Elsa, TX

Part One · Pacific Trails

Formally connecting to our State Award‑Winning Linear Park System.

Children playing at the Pacific Trails splash pad

Summer destination

A splash pad that beats the Valley heat

Families come from across the Delta to cool off here all summer long.

Sand volleyball courts at Pacific Trails

Active & social

Regulation sand volleyball courts

Tournament-ready courts that fill up with leagues and weekend players.

Shaded playground at Pacific Trails

Built for families

Shaded, modern playgrounds

Shade-covered play built for the South Texas sun, so kids play year-round.

One park, everything in it

And there’s so much more already here.

Dog park
Disc golf
The Garden at Pacific Trails
Fitness stations
Scooters
Rock playgrounds
Community BBQ pits
Hike & bike trails
Free WiFi

In partnership with VTX1, most of the park will be equipped with free public WiFi — so families can connect, students can study, and the whole system stays online.

Plus hike & bike trails that open access points into neighborhoods across the center of Elsa.

The headline

This addition closes the loop — from Mario Leal Park to the high school.

One continuous loop — making Elsa one of the most walkable communities in South Texas.

The addition

Safer, brighter, and better connected.

  • Trail lighting, cameras & emergency call stations — beside the 911 Emergency Center.
  • Trail connection & access tying it into the wider system.
  • Landscaping, benches, fitness & hydration stations along the path.
  • Pacific Trails signage & branding throughout.
Trail lit at night —
rendering
Night rendering of the Pacific Trails loop with the trail and fields lit

Rendering — the proposed trail, field, and entrance lighting, with cameras and emergency call stations.

Ready to begin — at no cost to the District

A first investment that’s already funded.

$30,000

in developer-paid park development fees — money the City already holds from local development, separate from General Fund property taxes.

01
Trail connection & access improvements
02
Lighting
03
Hydration-station prep
04
Soccer & open-rec layout planning
05
Signage & branding

Enough to launch visible improvements now — and build momentum for the full vision.

Long-term care & activation

And the City keeps it running — for good.

This isn’t a one-time project. The City of Elsa commits to the ongoing care that keeps the system safe, clean, and usable every day.

So students, families, and residents can use the system — day and night, year after year.

Part Two · The RISE Campus

The RISE Campus

Regional Innovation, Skills & Entrepreneurship

A vision for one shared home in the Delta Region for workforce training, dual credit, and entrepreneurship — anchored right here in Edcouch-Elsa.

Not starting from zero

The pieces are already here. They just need one foundation to grow from.

Between this district, the City, and the EDC, real programs are already running. They’re not ideas — they’re already happening. They just don’t share one address yet.

STC dual credit Leadership Elsa UTRGV SBDC counseling Entrepreneurship education RISE Campus one shared home

This building doesn’t start these partnerships. It gives them a foundation to grow from.

2 / 13

The workforce ceiling

Gateway jobs exist here. The ladder to climb them is missing.

Adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher
Our community sits roughly 23 points below the national rate.
Adults with a bachelor's degree: our area 14.5 percent versus about 38 percent nationally. Our area 14.5% United States ~38% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Source: Elsa EDC 5-Year Strategic Plan baseline (2026); U.S. Census / Esri.
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher
AreaShare of adults
Our area14.5%
United Statesabout 38%
Local job postings that are entry-level, no experience required 90%

The first jobs are already here. What’s missing is the next rung.

3 / 13

The paradox we live with

Jobs here are growing fast. Our people are still leaving.

City jobs
Up 33.4% in five years — about three times the national rate.
City jobs grew from about 1,290 in 2020 to 1,724 in 2025. 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 ~1,290 2020 1,724 2025
Source: Lightcast 2025 via Elsa EDC 5-Year Plan. 2020 figure derived from the reported +33.4% change.
City jobs
YearJobs
2020about 1,290
20251,724
City population
Down 8.2% over the decade — and projected flat to 2030.
City population fell from about 6,200 in 2010 to 5,688 in 2020. 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 ~6,200 2010 5,688 2020
Source: U.S. Census via Elsa EDC 5-Year Plan. 2010 figure derived from the reported −8.2% change.
City population
YearPopulation
2010about 6,200
20205,688

Construction employment here runs 4.38× the national concentration. The work is already here — the training to move up in it isn’t.

4 / 13

This isn’t only about a diploma path

A lot of our small business owners never went down the traditional education road. They still need to learn.

Plenty of Main Street entrepreneurs here didn’t take the college or CTE path — and they still need real, practical skills. Not a four-year commitment. Just the next thing they need to keep their doors open and grow.

Using AI tools Bookkeeping Social media marketing Pricing & margins Getting online Hiring & payroll
5 / 13

What this building becomes

A signal — for our community, and for this region.

A building like this doesn’t just hold programs. It becomes the place people already know to look toward.

For our community

The place you go when you’re starting a business, building a skill, or trying to do better — one address everybody knows, instead of ten different answers.

For the region

Proof the Delta area isn’t just growing — it’s building permanent, sustainable programs, with a real home base for its economy.

Why this matters right now

The Valley is being rebuilt — right now, an hour from this room.

SpaceX Starbase
photo
SpaceX Starbase at Boca Chica
Space · Boca Chica

SpaceX Starbase

~8,000 jobs

Projected headcount within about 18 months, up from roughly 4,200 today.

Rio Grande LNG
photo
Rio Grande LNG export terminal at the Port of Brownsville
Energy · Port of Brownsville

Rio Grande LNG

$18.4B

NextDecade’s export terminal, with a further $12B expansion phase announced. A second terminal, Texas LNG, is moving too.

Refinery
photo
Proposed America First Refining site at the Port of Brownsville
Refining · Port of Brownsville

America First Refining

500 jobs

240+ acres at the port, announced March 2026.

Proposed

This is energy and aerospace money that will outlive all of us in this room.

And it isn’t only oil and rockets

Advanced manufacturing and tech are landing here too.

Saronic / Port Alpha
photo
Saronic Technologies autonomous vessel
AI shipbuilding · Port of Brownsville

Saronic “Port Alpha”

$3.2B

10,000+ jobs over ten years on 600+ acres. Cameron County approved a $211M incentive in June 2026.

Proposed · site not final
Valeo plant
photo
Valeo advanced manufacturing facility in McAllen
Advanced manufacturing · McAllen

Valeo

$225M

Largest industrial investment in Hidalgo County history. 337,000 sq ft building the computers inside GM vehicles; up to 500 high-skill jobs.

Zoho campus
photo
Zoho Corporation campus in Edinburg
Technology · Edinburg

Zoho Corporation

1,050 acres

A global software company building a campus north of Edinburg, plus the historic Echo Hotel downtown.

Saronic’s agreement requires partnerships with local schools and a 35% local-hire target. RISE is how we hold up our end of a deal like that.

And it’s the kind of growth that needs trained people

Manufacturing returns more than twice the regional jobs of warehousing or retail.

Regional jobs created per $1 billion invested, by sector
It’s why every EDC in this region is chasing manufacturing — and why trained workers, not land, are the real constraint.
Jobs multiplier per one billion dollars invested: manufacturing 3.6 times, warehousing 1.4 times, retail 1.3 times. 4× 3× 2× 1× 0 3.60× Manufacturing 2.5× more jobs 1.4× Warehousing 1.3× Retail
Source: COSTEP regional sector investment study, 2026.
Regional jobs created per $1 billion invested, by sector
SectorJobs multiplier
Manufacturing3.60×
Warehousing1.4×
Retail1.3×

Those are the jobs coming to this Valley. This campus is how our kids and our neighbors qualify for them.

8 / 13

The vision

RISE: Regional Innovation, Skills & Entrepreneurship

One building. One address. A shared home for the partners already doing this work — serving Elsa, Edcouch, La Villa, Monte Alto, and San Carlos.

Plus Leadership Elsa and entrepreneurship education — all under one roof, in one place people can actually find.

One idea already on the table

This building shaped generations of Edcouch-Elsa students. We think it could do that again.

As we’ve thought through where RISE could live, the former high school keeps coming up — central, already known, already loved. It already carries a historical marker site designation, and we’d want to honor that: capturing and telling the stories of what this campus meant to this community, while putting its space back to work for the people who come next.

Homage to the past, resources leveraged for the future — with the Edcouch-Elsa name at the center of it. We’re not asking you to hand over keys tonight. We’re asking you to start the conversation with us.

Edcouch-Elsa High
School sign — photo
The weathered Edcouch-Elsa High School sign standing on the former campus

This has real momentum behind it

Regional partners are already stepping up.

Elsa EDC has applied for a $500,000 USDA Rural Business Development Grant toward this vision, with signed letters of support already in hand. This isn’t a wish — it’s a project regional partners are already backing.

LRGVDC
Regional economic development coordination
Letter of support signed
UTRGV SBDC
Business counseling & workforce development
Letter of support signed
Workforce Solutions RGV
Training & industry credentials
Letter of support signed
South Texas College
26-year EEISD dual credit partner
Committed partner
11 / 13

What we’re asking for tonight

Approve the interlocal agreement with the City of Elsa.

One agreement covers both proposals — the operation and use of the walking trail and the old high school. It lets the City and the EDC get to work: closing the loop, and giving the old campus new purpose — with the funding on the City and EDC side, at no cost to the District.

Tonight’s action item

Approve the interlocal agreement for the operation and use of the walking trail and the former high school campus.

12 / 13

Thank you

Edcouch-Elsa’s legacy, building the Delta Region’s future — together.

With your support, we keep building this out the right way — the same way this partnership has always worked.

Daniel Rivera Executive Director, Elsa Economic Development Corporation
13 / 13