Valeria Tokun Haga/THE RIDER
Brownsville and UTRGV are working together to increase the university’s reach and reduce the need to travel to the Edinburg campus by adding two four-year majors to the city campus’ curriculum and a possible expansion north of the city, according to Mayor John Cowen.
On Wednesday, the City of Brownsville hosted the 2026 State of the City Address at the Texas Southmost College Performing Arts Center.
Cowen announced updates to the Task Force of the Future, a partnership between the city and UTRGV to expand educational opportunities in Brownsville for Cameron County students.
“One of the most recent announcements has added more than 3,000 new student seats in Brownsville this semester,” he said. “This gives our students the opportunity to learn, grow and earn their degrees right here at home while reducing the need to travel to the Edinburg campus.”
Cowen added UTRGV is ready to add four-year degrees in mechanical and civil engineering on the Brownsville campus.
“UTRGV has invested more than $514 million in Brownsville since 2015,” the mayor said. “They’re actively working to acquire 60 acres with the option to acquire additional acreage on the north side of town for a future Brownsville campus expansion.”
The university is waiting on pending approval by the University of Texas System Board of Regents. The board will next meet on May 20 and 21.
Cowen also highlighted the city’s yearlong process of project innovations and economic and infrastructure growth. He said the past year has been about taking action on infrastructure, economic development and quality of life.
“Recently ranked the No. 1 metro in the U.S. for investment and named an emergent economic hotspot for 2025, we have become a magnet for opportunities,” the mayor said.
Valeria Tokun Haga/THE RIDER
He said one of the big responsibilities of any city is to build and maintain infrastructure. Now, the city is actively executing a historic $357 million multi-year capital improvement plan.
From the capital improvement plan, $215 million has already been used to modernize core infrastructure, improve quality of life and support long-term economic growth, according to Cowen.
He added, this year, the city secured $27.8 million in grant funding from the Rio Grande Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization to bring smarter and more connected transportation.
“$10.3 million of this investment are being used to implement a citywide intelligent transportation system, designed to modernize and optimize our traffic signals,” Cowen said.
The mayor said the initiatives will transform Brownsville from one of the least-synchronized cities in the Valley into one of the most.
The city address presented companies that would bring a total of 24,000 new jobs and $30.3 billion in capital investment, such as Linde plc, Amazon, Superior GHQ, SpaceX, and the America First Refinery and NextDecade LNG projects.
Cowen said there is a potential billion-dollar investment with the High Tech Advanced Manufacturing company looking at the Port of Brownsville as a possible location for its new plant, with the announcement expected in a few months.
“This is not just any project,” he said. “[It] is one that pushes the boundaries of maritime innovation, technology and artificial intelligence as we know it.”
