Iturbide Street facelift underway
For 1100 - 1300 blocks

Changing the face of downtown Laredo The downtown revitalization project backed by the Streets of Laredo Urban Mall Association is currently underway on the 1100, 1200, and 1300 blocks of Iturbide Street between Flores and Juarez avenues. Pictured at the site are Streets of Laredo Urban Mall Association board member Rafael Torres, program coordinator Cindie García, president José A. García, and president-elect Arturo García.

A facelift is underway for the 1100, 1200, and 1300 blocks of Iturbide Street, thanks to City of Laredo work crews and the Streets of Laredo Urban Mall Association, a nonprofit organization for downtown revitalization. The $1.5 million Iturbide Street Project broke ground in early January on Iturbide Street between Flores and Juarez avenues.
The revitalization project will include wider sidewalks, decorative lighting, park benches, trees, canopies over storefronts, and a misting system for the summer heat.
"We are so excited that this project finally has taken motion," said José A. García, president of the Streets of Laredo Urban Mall Association. "The members of our group have worked very hard and spent countless hours promoting the idea for a better downtown for almost five years now. We also hope this will generate a renewed sense of pride especially to those who remember downtown in its heyday."
In 1997 the Streets of Laredo Urban Mall Association approached the City of Laredo with a feasibility study that targeted three city blocks for total infrastructure rehabilitation along the theme of "The Streets of Laredo." With the feasibility study in hand, the City of Laredo approved an engineering study of the utilities and infrastructure on those three blocks of Iturbide St. The project was funded and begun in 2001.
The Streets of Laredo Urban Mall Association has been advocating infrastructure improvements through an awareness campaign aimed at downtown economic diversification with an emphasis on redevelopment opportunities. This has been promoted through an annual street festival, Jamboozie Mardi Gras Festival, which this year takes place Saturday, February 15 from 5 p.m. to midnight in historic downtown Laredo.
The mission of the Streets of Laredo Urban Mall Association is to preserve and amplify the eclectic atmosphere of historic downtown and to develop a tourist-friendly urban infrastructure that will restore and enhance downtown Laredo into a desirable destination to shop, live, and work.
For more information on the Streets of Laredo Urban Mall Association or the Jamboozie Mardi Gras Festival, please visit www.streetsoflaredo.org.