Retail Development is Surging at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Despite the weakness of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar and the emotional politics stirred up by controversial talk of building a giant border wall, Mexican nationals continue to stream across the border into Texas to shop the growing numbers of American shopping centers being built or expanded to accommodate them. Indeed, Mexico residents account for about $4.5 billion in annual retail sales in Texas counties along the border, according to Tom Fullerton, a professor of economics at The University of Texas at El Paso. This bounty has motivated a cast of international and local developers to expand their retail presence on the U.S side, particularly in the Rio Grande Valley, which includes the cities of Brownsville, Edinburg, Harlingen, Hidalgo, McAllen, Mission and others.