BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Alejandra Y. Castillo, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development (EDA) made history for being the first EDA assistant secretary to ever visit a project of this scale in Brownsville.
Castillo and her delegation saw firsthand how the construction of the future “eBridge Center for Business and Commercialization” is coming along, a project that became to fruition in large part by a $900,000 grant from the EDA.
“There were a lot of elements of this particular project that were very much in line with what EDA does. So, this is exciting, because this is about planting the seed of those industries of tomorrow,” said Castillo.
Also in attendance during the eBridge Center tour were key stakeholders who have worked diligently to support this regional project: UTRGV Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center, Texas Southmost College, Brownsville City Manager’s office, Congressman Filemon Vela, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez and BCIC.
Linda Ufland, UTRGV Director of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Commercialization, and her team were in attendance and expressed gratitude for Castillo’s visit.
“Honored to have hosted Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alejandra Y. Castillo at eBridge and to have had the opportunity to share the vision of this project and the opportunities that can be developed in our region from venture creation to growth and workforce development. On behalf of UTRGV, thank you for the open conversation,” said Ufland.
Nathan Burkhart, BCIC Director of Business Development, said the partners involved with the construction of the eBridge Center have been working tirelessly to ensure this center serves as a model for other cities looking to do the same.
“It’s about time that we celebrate these wins so the community can start seeing the transformational change that this project’s going to create,” Burkhart said. “The objective is to enable any entrepreneur with an idea to turn it into a commercial venture that can be scaled up and grow tremendously,” he said.
Following the tour, Castillo participated in an informal roundtable discussion at UTRGV’s Gran Salon with all stakeholders present at the tour to learn the challenges the region currently faces in equity, inclusion, economic development, workforce development, supply chain, and cross-border.
The eBridge Center is scheduled to open its doors sometime this summer.
For more information on this press release, please contact Michelle Lopez, BCIC Director of Development and Communications at mlopez@bcic.us
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