The Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Commerce Department on Sept. 9 announced a $700,000 grant to transform a derelict warehouse in the Mitte Cultural District into the Cannery Public Market, which will serve as the new permanent home of the Brownsville Farmers’ Market, an incubator for aspiring food entrepreneurs, and the local headquarters of Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley Inc.
The EDA grant is being matched by $1.1 million in local investment, including $500,000 the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation pledged in 2019. The city of Brownsville and the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit No Kid Hungry have kicked in $250,000 and $300,000, respectively, toward the $1.9 million Cannery project, which will entail renovation of the old Quonset-hut Gutierrez warehouse at the corner of East 6th and East Ringgold streets.
Also, the Mitte Foundation, which has launched its own $2.2 million makeover of the Mitte Cultural District, has committed an unspecified amount of money to help build restrooms for the Cannery project.
Ramiro Gonzalez, the city’s director of government and community affairs, said that with the EDA grant the final piece of funding is in place.
“Now we can proceed,” he said. “The project will be going out for bid shortly and there’s really nothing stopping it at this point.”
Gonzalez said the construction contract should be awarded in November or December at the latest. Megaphorphosis Design, the Harlingen-based architectural firm hired for the project, has completed its design work, he said. Construction is expected to take about 11 months.
“We’re excited,” Gonzalez said. “Everybody’s excited about this project. … It’s the culmination of a couple of years’ work for fundraising and design and now we’re ready. From here on out it will move quickly.”
The Gutierrez “Warehouse by the Zoo” was built in 1950 according to county records. Among the Cannery’s amenities will be a commercial-grade community kitchen available to aspiring, food-based entrepreneurs. In a statement announcing the EDA grant, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Castillo said the EDA plays a key role in helping communities help small entrepreneurs succeed.
“This EDA investment will create the Cannery Public Market to increase access to healthy food, develop health education initiatives, and provide space for entrepreneurial opportunities through a community kitchen,” she said.
The Brownsville Farmers’ Market is run by the Brownsville Wellness Coalition. Currently the market is held on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon in Linear Park, though the new location may make it possible to expand the market’s hours beyond the weekend, Gonzalez said.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, applauded the EDA grant and said he “will continue to do everything I can to make economic growth in Brownsville a high priority.”
U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, said the project will be beneficial to children and families.
“The Cannery Public Market project has been a vision of the city’s for the last several years and I have been proud to offer my support in order to bring their vision to life,” he said. “I am pleased that the (EDA) is supporting this project, which will create a new home for the Brownsville Farmer’s Market and offer residents a new place for our community to gather and have access to local, healthy and nutritious food options.”
The EDA is in charge of leading the federal government’s economic-development agenda by promoting competitiveness and helping regions across the county prepare for growth and success in the global economy. The agency said it invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in the interest of creating jobs for U.S. workers, promoting American innovation and accelerating long-term, sustainable economic growth.
