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SAN BENITO, Texas - At a recent holiday season open house, the Rio Grande Guardian\xa0interviewed San Benito Economic Development Corporation President Julian Rios.\xa0

\u201cOur main focus is downtown but we are seeing San Benito is growing outside of the downtown area,\u201d Rios said. \u201cWe are a small, family-oriented city but we are ready for that expansion into large, big box retail.\u201d

Rios said he is hopeful that San Benito will benefit from SpaceX\u2019s rocket launches at Boca Chica. He believes there is a lot of potential for more residential development spurred on by the growth of the space industry in the lower Rio Grande Valley. And, he said, retail development, invariably follows residential development. \u201cWe need to tap into SpaceX,\u201d he said.\xa0

Asked about sprucing up his city\u2019s downtown, Rios said the big challenge will be to create more parking spaces. \u201cSome buildings need a lot of work. We have facade improvement grants.\u201d

Rios said he is proud the EDC was able to provide extended rent subsidies to small businesses impacted by the pandemic.

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