MCALLEN, Texas — Foreign Trade Zone No. 12 is expanding its regional footprint across the Rio Grande Valley, securing a federal expansion into Willacy County while laying the groundwork for a massive master-planned industrial park in North McAllen.
In a wide-ranging interview on the Rio Grande Guardian Podcast, Mark E. Garcia, CEO of Foreign Trade Zone No. 12, outlined the organization’s evolving mission from a localized logistics park to an economic driver spanning multiple counties along the U.S.–Mexico border.
“FTZs, by nature, are regional programs,” Garcia said. “We’re kind of going by FTZ Number 12 because we want everybody to know that we’re regional. We’re not just in McAllen. That’s where we started, but over time, things change, and we look at other opportunities.”
Following a 13-month approval process with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Foreign Trade Zones Board, FTZ No. 12 has officially expanded its Alternative Site Framework (ASF) service boundary into Willacy County. The designation provides the county and Port Mansfield with a key economic development mechanism to attract international trade and manufacturing.
The milestone was recently presented to the Willacy County Commissioners Court. Garcia emphasized that the framework offers a streamlined setup process for prospective companies—reducing activation timelines from a year down to three to six months.
“There’s a lot of potential there with the port in Port Mansfield, Raymondville, and Willacy County with their new projects and data centers,” Garcia noted. “It gives them another resource and another tool in their economic development quiver to market when they’re in front of these companies.”
The expansion coincides with broader modernization efforts at Port Mansfield under new leadership, including recent dredging that brought the channel depth to 17 feet, allowing larger barge traffic to access the port’s 1,700 acres of developable property.
Local leaders—including Willacy County Judge Aurelio Guerra, Raymondville Mayor Gilbert Gonzales, Raymondville EDC Director Beto Garza, and Port Director Javier Montoya—recently met with FTZ No. 12 leadership and regional partners, including the RioPlex Regional International Economic Development Alliance and Council South Texas Economic Progress (CoSTEP), to align long-term strategy.
The region is also attracting interest from clean-tech projects, including Saluna’s air-cooled, low-water data centers powered by the nearby Mañada Wind Farm.
In Hidalgo County, FTZ No. 12 is advancing infrastructure development for nearly 1,800 acres situated north of McAllen near the former Moore Air Base along North Moorefield Road.
The land holding includes roughly 500 acres owned by FTZ No. 12 and approximately 1,000 acres held by the City of McAllen. The entities operate under a joint development agreement to transform the property into a master-planned, mixed-use industrial park.
Garcia stated that engineering work is currently underway to construct the necessary stormwater drainage, water, and sewer infrastructure required to make the site fully shovel-ready.
“Every step of the way, we got to start with the infrastructure,” Garcia explained. “Sewer, water, all that stuff has to come first before we really say we’re shovel-ready. But there’s been a lot of interest.”
The development borders the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) facility, which is currently undergoing a major expansion to support screw worm and fruit fly eradication efforts. As the facility scales its workforce from 160 to nearly 500 personnel, FTZ No. 12 is coordinating closely with federal officials and local higher education institutions—including UTRGV, Texas A&M, and South Texas College—to establish workforce pipelines and support facilities.
The proposed master plan incorporates:
The location is positioned near the future alignment of Section C of the Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority (RMA) Loop, a planned $1.2 billion highway corridor connecting West Hidalgo County near La Joya toward U.S. 281.
Garcia noted that the expansion northward addresses a structural shift in regional industrial real estate. With core south McAllen properties seeing escalating land prices, the Moorefield corridor provides the scale required for large-footprint corporate projects.
“The projects just kept getting bigger and bigger—from 10 or 20 acres up to 200 or 300 acres,” Garcia said. “We knew we needed a good piece of land that can support future growth.”
While preparing the north side for long-term development, FTZ No. 12 continues to build out its traditional footprint in South McAllen, where it owns nearly 1 million square feet of space. Plans are moving forward on a new 120,000-square-foot facility focusing on intermodal rail access across its remaining 40 undeveloped southern acres.
“Texas as a whole is supporting business, and companies want to be part of the growth down here,” Garcia said. “Whether it’s supplying manufacturing in Reynosa on the south side or taking advantage of space up north, the demand is there.”
