RAYMONDVILLE — A proposed utility district might help expand Willacy County’s first retirement community.
Raymondville city commissioners have approved a resolution in support of developer Joe Wetegrove’s plans to create Willacy County Municipal Utility District No. 1.
The proposed district would help him sell bonds to expand La Jarra Senior Living Community, expected to begin operating in April, Wetegrove said yesterday.
“We don’t want the city or county to have to make a decision on bonds,” Wetegrove said. “We hope it will help us move quicker. We want the ability to do our own roads and infrastructure free of the local government.”
Wetegrove said he plans future development that could include “senior apartments.”
Wetegrove is building the retirement community on his family’s historic ranch about a mile east of Raymondville on State Highway 186.
The development will focus on putting residents in a natural setting on the ranch passed down by his great-great-grandfather Edward Burleson Raymond, founder of Raymondville, he said.
“People like living in a community that’s green, that feels good,” he said. “People are interested in living in a home setting. They want to feel at home.”
The retirement community made up of an assisted living facility and a memory care center is expected to create at least 38 jobs.
