Beautification underway in Brownsville
The land being cleared by the resaca north of the Main Building on the Brownsville campus is going to be an area for students to enjoy the view, a university official says.
Jason Hartley, UTRGV Vice President for Operations, Planning & Construction, said, “Brownsville is a beautiful campus, and I had no idea that resaca was there until we walked out towards the [Lozano-Banco] Bridge. And I’m like, ‘This is it. We’re missing such a beautiful opportunity, right?’”
Hartley said the department wants to clear up some of the dark and brushy areas near the resaca.
“That whole resaca area has been so overgrown for so long, so the intent really is, again, to activate that space,” he said.
Hartley hopes students use the area for studying and to “enjoy this treasure hidden away.”
“We were hoping to do more beautification projects down in Brownsville in that area,” he said.
Abraham Hernandez, executive director of Campus Facilities Operations, said the project, which began in the summer, is taking longer than expected because, “… there was an old [house] foundation with stairs and footings.”
Hartley said the initial budget for the beautification project was around $20,000.
Hernandez said the budget has increased to about $30,000 to $35,000 due to the unexpected size of the house foundation.
“… We didn’t realize, I mean, we know there was an old house that had burned many … years ago, and the extent of the foundation was all covered with dirt and debris and all the other stuff, so we had no idea what size it was,” he said.
The overgrown grass made it impossible for students to view the resaca as they walked from the front to the back of campus. The vegetation covers both sides of the bridge’s entrance.
Hernandez said the project might expand to both sides of the bridge.
Dezmond Romero, UTRGV alumn and biology laboratory assistant, said he thinks the project is a “pretty good idea.”
“I definitely think our campus has the unique trait of being next to the resaca and it’s pretty open, so I definitely think it’s a pretty good idea of having a more open setting of where students can study,” Romero said.
Biology senior Ariane Garcia said she liked the landscape idea.
“I think that’s pretty cool,” Garcia said. “I think the resaca it’s a very unused area. I think it’s a very nice opportunity for people to relax ’cause I always see people hanging out in the Student Union and stuff. But I have never seen, like, an outdoor area like this.”
