BY AMY SORTER

McAllen is not just any border town. Now the fifth-largest population center in Texas, the McAllen- Edinburg-Mission Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) has been quietly coming into its own with many service sector jobs in healthcare, leisure/hospitality and retail. Though not experiencing the massive growth of other Texas MSAs such as Dallas-Fort Worth or Austin, this region has been making plenty of waves on the Rio Grande border.

McAllen is home to La Plaza Mall, Simon Property’s 1.2-million-squarefoot regional shopping center that caters to shoppers on both sides of the border. “This is one of the few malls that is actually expanding,” said Rebecca Olaguibel, retail and business development director for the city of McAllen. Simon Property Group recently completed construction of a $71-million, 285,813-squarefoot
addition to the mall. Added Olaguibel: “This is only one in that group expanding its retail footprint.”

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