BY SOL MEZTLI GARCIA
Palmview city officials and the Municipal Development District held a news conference and demolition ceremony Thursday morning to bid goodbye to Greg’s Ballroom and speak about the Palmview Main Street Project.
The project was first unveiled in October 2020 and consists of transforming the 8-acre property, formerly Greg’s Ballroom, into the first-ever downtown Main Street by connecting Frontage Street to FM 495.
“What we lack here is like a downtown Main Street, that downtown feel, a sense of community. No longer do we want to have to go to our neighboring cities to find that kind of facilities, or nightlife or food, retail, medical facilities as well,” said Michael Leo, city manager and executive director for the MDD.
In 1974, Greg Villarreal and his wife, Estela, acquired the property in Palmview to open a restaurant and then the ballroom. For years, the ballroom hosted community events from weddings, dances, concerts and more.
Joel Garcia, MDD director, recounted his experience with Greg’s Ballroom.
“Growing up, I remember coming to the dances here,” Garcia said. “Some of us learned how to dance here, as well as had our first dates here.”
In 2008, the Villarreal couple decided to retire.
“It was [Greg’s] dream of going to work in California, working hard and coming back to the vision of developing their own business. And without that vision … we wouldn’t be here today,” Garcia said.
The Main Street Project abides by that vision, said Linda Sarabia, MDD president.
“In this next phase that we have — this vision for this Main Street development — we have the same objectives: to create a place where [the] community can come together, also create jobs and spur our economy,” Sarabia said.
The officials recognized and thanked members of the Villarreal family, including three nieces who attended the ceremony.
Leo added the MDD has received interest from franchises, companies and investors about city development, such as the Sewer Infrastructure Project, which is being “wrapped up.”
The Sewer Infrastructure Project is in the finalization phase with sewer installations in the north side of Palmview, the city manager said.
“The south side of Palmview has already passed actual sewer connections,” he said. “They’re wrapping up the north side of this.”
With these two projects, the MDD looks forward to the future.
“With the vision that we have, together with the outside Sewer Infrastructure Project, the road development connecting these two arteries, and just the interest and then the need and the demographic that we have here in the city of Palmview to support this kind of development, we’re really, really, really excited about that,” Leo said.
Asked what MDD Vice President Noe Hernandez expects for the future of Palmview, he said, “We have a lot of chain accounts that have already approached us. We got convenience stores coming up; we got restaurants coming up. We even have the clinic that we’re looking really forward to.”
While the experience is “bittersweet” for Palmview residents because of the ballroom demolition, the Main Street Project will also be a place to make new memories, said Sarabia.
“This is a place where they came and created memories, but I want to reassure them that what’s coming next is going to serve the same purpose, but it’s just going to be in a different way, more modern way for the new and the next generation,” she said.
