MERCEDES — The construction of the Arroyo Palms residential subdivision in town is the biggest development of homes the Queen City has seen in the last few years.
Construction of the new housing development started in April and the plan is for 10 homes to go up for sale by the start of the new year.
James W. Turner Construction is building the new subdivision off of Rio Rico Road in Mercedes. The construction building group was founded in 1982. They are one of the largest volume builders nationwide.
Mercedes Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Hernan Gonzalez said James W. Turner Construction committed to building 10 new homes and has invested more than $1 million worth in land and construction.
After the homes have been purchased, the Turner group will receive $7,500 from the city per home as an incentive once the certification of occupancy by the city of Mercedes is met.
The project started April 1 and the plan is to have the homes ready for sale by Dec. 31.
Gonzalez said an open house of one of the homes is being planned for some time in July.
“We are very happy that this company has decided to build 10 houses,” Gonzalez said. “We are already talking to the developer to build additional houses.”
One of the objectives of the city of Mercedes is to create more housing options for people.
“The quality of the construction has exceeded our expectations,” Gonzalez said. “All the homes will have three bedrooms, two baths and 1,300 square feet of living space.
“The Valley is changing and bringing more people from different places and we need people to live in Mercedes.”
He said there are many working couples in the area who work in McAllen and Brownsville. Mercedes officials have hopes the homes will help those families who need to live in the midpoint of the Valley to get to either Brownsville or McAllen fast.
“It’s a pretty good laid-back community,” Gonzalez said. “Mercedes is a quite town and a good place to raise a family and you can get to McAllen or Harlingen in 15 minutes.”
Gonzalez said a housing development like this in Mercedes has not happened in a long time.
That has kept potential home owners from moving into the city because there is not a pool of homes to select from when shopping for houses in Mercedes.
“If you’re new to the area and renting and want to move, we want Mercedes to have the housing stock available for people to move into,” Gonzalez said.
