Borderplex Alliance
Civil organization in El Paso, Texas, U.S.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Borderplex Alliance (formerly known as Paso Del Norte Group) is a civic economic development group formed in 2012 that focuses on business development in El Paso, Texas, Ciudad Juárez, and Southern New Mexico. The Borderplex group provides private, no-fee consultations to businesses and industries looking to expand or start operations in the greater El Paso region. The current CEO is Jon Barela.
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| Formerly | Paso Del Norte Group |
|---|---|
| Website | www |
History
The group can trace it roots to the El Paso Business Leadership and Research Council, formed in 1999.[1] On May 5, 1999 a Texas corporation was formed called the Paso del Norte Group.[2] On June 5, 2001, a nonprofit "supporting organization" called the PDNG Foundation, was formed and lasted until it was dissolved in 2013.[2] In 2003, the original leadership changed the name to the El Paso Business Leadership Council and was led by Bob Hoy.[1] By 2011, the group was made up of around 350 members.[3]
PDNG worked as an "exclusive private organization," according to scholar, Yolanda Chavez Leyva.[4] Members of the group often used the different entities associated with PDNG "interchangeably and sometimes the same entity is referred by similar, yet different names."[2] PDNG was described in Economic Geography as "a civic organization of wealthy oligarchs, real estate developers, and politicos from both sides of the border."[5]
In 2012, the group merged with the El Paso Regional Economic Development Corp (RED-Co or REDCO) to form the Borderplex Bi-National Economic Alliance or Borderplex Alliance.[6][7][8] REDCO, an industrial recruiter, was formed in 2004.[9][10] The Borderplex Alliance was created as "privately funded nonprofit organization" which provides "confidential, no-fee" consultations to businesses and industries that are interested in working in the El Paso region.[11][12][13] The Borderplex Bi-National Economic Alliance Foundation is part of the non-profit structure that provides funding to the Borderplex Alliance.[14] The Borderplex Alliance is also a major lobbyist working to keep military installations in the El Paso region.[15]
The Hunt Family Foundation donated $175,000 to the Borderplex Alliance in 2017.[16] In 2025 the Borderplex Alliance was awarded the Economic Development Organization of the Year Award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).[12]
The Borderplex Alliance hosted a bi-national summit in 2019, where the CEO, Jon Barela talked about securing the Mexico–United States border.[17]
Projects
PDNG was involved in a controversial plan, announced in 2006, to redevelop Downtown El Paso.[2] The city government of El Paso contracted with PDNG on February 15, 2005 in order to create a master plan for the downtown development.[2] After the unveiling of the plan, it was clear that the next community to be targeted for redevelopment was El Segundo Barrio.[2] Critics of the plan say that it was unveiled without public input.[18]
In 2015, Borderplex Alliance paid more than $200,000 for an economic development report covering the El Paso region.[19] Borderplex Alliance was involved in bringing an Amazon Fulfillment Center in 2020.[20] In 2021, Borderplex Alliance was involved with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and ASPIRE ERC.[21] Borderplex Alliance worked with El Paso Water (EPWater) in 2022 to assist the utility to find potential buyer or lessees for property owned by EPWater.[22] EPWater paid Borderplex $250,000 for their services for the next two years.[22] In 2024, Borderplex Alliance announced a partnership with Spaceport America.[23] In 2025, the Borderplex Alliance worked with Meta to bring AI data center development to the Northeast El Paso area.[24][25] Jon Barela, a CEO of Borderplex, called this multi-million dollar investment one of his proudest accomplishments.[26]
Leadership
Gilbert Moreno served as an early representative of the group.[27][28] Myrna Deckert served as CEO of the Paso Del Norte Group between 2004 and 2007.[29][30] In a May 19, 2006, email newsletter, Lisa Colquitt Muñoz was indicated to have accepted a staff position of Deputy Chief Operating Officer.[31] Rolando Pablos was CEO in 2015.[11] In August of 2016, Jon Barela, became the CEO of Borderplex.[32]
Notable members
- Paul L. Foster (in PDNG).[33]
- Beto O'Rourke (in PDNG).[34]