Copyright by Ramiro Gonzalez 2011 The Report Committee for Ramiro Gonzalez certifies that this is the approved version of the following report: Downtown Revitalization Along the U.S.-Mexico Border: A Case Study on Brownsville, Texas APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: Terry Kahn Pablo Rhi-Perez Downtown Revitalization Along the U.S.-Mexico Border: A Case Study on Brownsville, Texas by Ramiro Gonzalez, B.A. Report Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning The University of Texas at Austin May 2011 Dedication To my parents, Ramiro and Catalina Gonzalez, for their support and for showing me that the most important aspects of life are family and education. No words could ever express my gratitude for what they have taught me. To my parents I dedicate this work, which would not have been possible without their steadfast support and dedication to my education. Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge all the teachers, professors and family members who inspired me to continue my education, and thank them for their steadfast support through it all. Special thanks to Dr. Terry Kahn, the only professor who could make me understand statistics, who has supported this thesis with his time and energy; Dr. Pablo Rhi-Perez, whose help and insights were invaluable; and Analia Lemus, who stands by me every day, encourages my career aspirations and endeavors, and sacrificed time and time again so that I could complete this thesis. May 2011 v Abstract Downtown Revitalization Along the U.S.-Mexico Border: A Case Study on Brownsville, Texas Ramiro Gonzalez, MSCRP The University of Texas at Austin, 2011 Supervisor: Terry Kahn This analysis of the downtown areas of the U.S.-Mexico border cities Brownsville, McAllen, and Laredo, and San Diego will chronicle the history and foundation of each city and also the current revitalization efforts underway in many of them. Brownsville, Texas, the southernmost U.S.-Mexico border city, has a rich history that has earned it the nickname “New Orleans on the Rio Grande.” The architecture in downtown Brownsville has a heavy New Orleans influence, making it the most unique downtown in the Rio Grande Valley. Revitalization efforts in Brownsville have surfaced from time to time only to fail due to several variables, including the lack of political will to take on perhaps the biggest challenge to face Brownsville. Nonetheless, revitalization of this area must occur. In order to fully understand the intricacies of downtown Brownsville, one must look back in time to see what exactly made it so special. This report will seek those answers and provide positive and realistic recommendations that could assist in the revitalization of downtown Brownsville. vi Table of Contents List of Tables ......................................................................................................... ix List of Figures..........................................................................................................x Preface .....................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Introduction............................................................................................5 Chapter 2: Analysis of Other Downtowns...............................................................9 McAllen, Texas...............................................................................................9 Current Revitalization Efforts: McAllen Heart of the City .................12 Implementation of Plan...............................................................14 Laredo, Texas................................................................................................15 Current Revitalization Efforts..............................................................24 San Diego, California ...................................................................................29 Current Revitalization Efforts: Rising on the Pacific ..........................33 Chapter 3: General History of Brownsville ...........................................................35 Early History: 1846-Civil War .....................................................................35 Civil War Era .......................................................................................37 Fort Brown and Post-Civil War History.....................................39 Chapter 4: History and Deterioration of Downtown Brownsville (1848-Present) 41 Deterioration of Downtown Brownsville (1970-Present).............................43 Amigoland and Sunrise Mall ...............................................................43 Economic Interdependence with Mexico ............................................45 1982 Mexican Peso Devaluation ................................................46 1994 Mexican Financial Crisis ...................................................47 Early Development Trends and Expansion of Transportation......................49 Growth of Transportation ....................................................................51 Current View of Downtown ................................................................54 vii Chapter 5: Downtown Connectivity and Accessibility..........................................57 West Rail Relocation ....................................................................................58 Historic Battlefield Trail...............................................................................59 Brownsville Urban System (BUS)................................................................60 Chapter 6: Analysis of Imagine Brownsville Comprehensive Plan ......................62 Chapter 7: Economic Analysis of the Downtown Area.........................................68 Used Clothing Stores ...........................................................................68 Financial Institutions............................................................................68 Municipal, County, and Federal Government Jobs .............................69 Retail....................................................................................................70 University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College (UTB/TSC) ....................................................................................................71 SWOT Analysis ...................................................................................72 El Jardin Hotel and Capitol Theater Impact Analysis .........................77 El Jardin Hotel Restoration.........................................................80 Two Development Scenarios for the El Jardin Hotel .................81 Chapter 8: Recommendations................................................................................85 Chapter 9: Conclusion ...........................................................................................89 Bibliography ..........................................................................................................94 Vita ......................................................................................................................99 viii List of Tables Table 1: SWOT Analysis.......................................................................................72 Table 2. Capitol Theater Construction Impact.......................................................79 Table 3: El Jardin Hotel Restoration Impact .........................................................80 Table 4: Impact of Hotel Operations .....................................................................82 Table 5: El Jardin Office Complex ........................................................................83 ix List of Figures Figure 1- Downtown McAllen 1926......................................................................10 Figure 2: Map of Tamaulipas.................................................................................17 Figure 3: Laredo River Vega Plan .........................................................................26 Figure 4: Laredo Downtown Districts ...................................................................27 Figure 5: Downtown Laredo Entertainment Corridor ...........................................28 Figure 6: Horton Purchase of San Diego ...............................................................31 Figure 8: Transportation Routes 1950’s ................................................................52 Figure 7: Brownsville Transportation in 1934.......................................................52 Figure 9: Transportation at Present Day ................................................................53 Figure 10: Downtown Bank Deposits....................................................................69 Figure 11: UTB/TSC Population by Percentage....................................................71 x Preface This paper is about downtown areas in cities located along the U.S.-Mexico border: the Texas cities of Brownsville, McAllen, Laredo, and San Diego, California. These border cities have experienced rapid population growth in the past twenty years, and they have all experienced the outmigration of residential and commercial activity from their respective downtowns. The population and demographic changes of a neighborhood occur in many American cities on a daily basis, however most of these changes occur slowly through many decades of changing demographic patterns. Suburbanization