Industrial park streets to get CARES upgrade

Dalondo Moultrie The Seguin Gazette

As hard hit as Seguin was by the coronavirus pandemic, the city is in the beginning of a comeback and receiving federal dollars to help.

CARES Act grant funding to the tune of $860,000 is slated to enlarge the Rio Nogales Industrial Park on the city’s north side. The road construction will serve as a welcome to more business and a safety feature, said Josh Schneuker, director of the Seguin Economic Development Corporation.

“Safety and also one of the other things it will provide is access for a property on the southern portion of the industrial park,” he said. “That piece of property currently does not have access to Eighth Street. It’ll open up access there as well.”

The Seguin Economic Development Corporation and the city of Seguin partnered to earn an $860,000 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Recovery Assistance grant through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

The award will support expansion of Rio Nogales by covering engineering design, permitting and construction costs needed to extend Eighth Street, the city said in a news release.

Seguin and the city’s Economic Development Corporation will split the difference in necessary matching funds of $215,000, Schneuker said.

“We are extremely excited to be awarded this grant through the U.S. EDA,” he said. “The extension of Eighth Street will help ensure long-term economic success for the manufacturers currently operating within the industrial park, while also influencing future investments and job creation.”

Changes will improve Eighth Street, the main road in the industrial park, which comes to a dead end. The construction will allow vehicles, including big 18-wheeler trucks, to better navigate the area, Schneuker said.

“In order for vehicles and trucks to make turnarounds and go back northbound if they aren’t making a delivery to Niagara or any of the other companies there, they simply have to gain access to one of those properties and make a turn on private property,” he said. “This project will extend that street. That will allow for smoother north and south vehicle traffic. With that better traffic increase and access as well, it’ll help really make things a lot safer than they are today.”

Rio Nogales Industrial Park hosts the CPS Energy — Rio Nogales Power Project, Niagara Bottling, United Alloy, and Continental Structural Plastics. CoffeeTech Industries has planned to construct its headquarters and a production facility in the industrial park.

The city plans to expand Eighth Street about 750 feet longer and 43 feet wider and construct a turn around at the end using the funds, the city said.

The park hasn’t announced any new businesses recently, but that won’t always be the case, Schneuker said.

“We’re hoping with additional roadway access to the pieces of undeveloped land in the southern portion of the industrial park, that will help with hopefully more businesses coming in,” Schneuker said.

The project is funded under the CARES Act to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Assistance is provided to eligible communities and regions impacted by the pandemic.

Seguin is one of those communities, Schneuker said.

The city’s unemployment around May reached about 15%, and many companies at the time dealt with a great deal of uncertainty, including layoffs and furloughs, he said.

“For the monies available through this grant program, you need to show that there was economic impact felt within the city,” Schneuker said. “Then you can leverage those grant funds and, essentially, invest in infrastructure and hopefully stimulate the economy a little more and hopefully lead to more job creation down the road.”

Different segments of the community came together to secure the funding. Help came from different levels of government as well, Seguin Mayor Donna Dodgen said.

“We feel very fortunate that the Economic Development Administration is investing these grant funds here in Seguin,” she said. “Securing this grant would not be possible without the support of our U.S. Senators, Mr. John Cornyn and Mr. Ted Cruz, as well as our U.S. Congressman, Mr. Vicente Gonzalez. I am confident that this investment will accelerate business growth and diversification in Seguin.”

Read article on SeguinGazette.com