Eagle Pass Riskind Building Raises Questions Over Original Purpose of $3.5 Million Federal Business Incubator Grant

By Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2026 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

EAGLE PASS — More than five years after the City of Eagle Pass received a $3.5 million federal grant to transform the historic Riskind Building into a business incubator, questions remain over whether the investment has accomplished its original purpose of helping entrepreneurs establish businesses, create employment opportunities and eventually become financially independent.

The issue has resurfaced as the Eagle Pass City Council prepares to consider an application to lease commercial space inside the Riskind Building for a proposed
Karaoke Bar establishment during its Wednesday, November 4, 2026, special meeting.

Although commercial leasing was included in the original project, the federal investment was intended to accomplish considerably more than creating another city-owned rental property.

In 2020, then City Economic Development Director Arturo Marquez pursued federal funding through the Economic Development Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to establish a downtown business incubator designed to help entrepreneurs overcome the financial and operational challenges of starting businesses.

The project received approval in February 2021, when the federal government awarded Eagle Pass $3.5 million, requiring an additional $875,000 in local matching funds, bringing the original investment to $4,375,000.

According to the federal grant announcement, the funding was intended to renovate the downtown building into a small business incubator and retail center supporting industries including retail, technology, real estate and innovative energy solutions.

The project was expected to create 35 jobs and generate approximately $200,000 in private investment.

These objectives were particularly important because the funding originated from a federal economic recovery program intended to help communities overcome the financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A business incubator, however, is not simply a building where businesses rent commercial space.

Its primary purpose is to help new businesses survive their earliest and most difficult years by providing affordable facilities, professional guidance, business planning assistance, mentorship, networking opportunities and access to financial resources.

Under a traditional incubation model, participating businesses receive assistance until they become financially stable enough to graduate from the program and establish independent operations elsewhere in the community.

This allows incubator space to become available for additional entrepreneurs, creating an ongoing cycle of business development, employment opportunities and private investment.

Success, therefore, should not be measured solely by how many businesses occupy the building, but by how many receive assistance, become financially sustainable and eventually grow beyond the incubator.

The Riskind Building, located at 364 Main Street, officially opened following renovations on September 27, 2024.

City documents subsequently established commercial leasing arrangements and an upstairs business incubator offering memberships, shared workspaces, mentorship and business development opportunities.

In January 2025, the city partnered with Sul Ross State University to launch a business accelerator program intended to provide entrepreneurs with professional guidance, training and resources.

However, as of October 2026, publicly available information reviewed for this article does not establish how many businesses have successfully completed the Riskind incubation program, graduated into independent commercial locations or created permanent employment through the initiative.

This does not necessarily mean entrepreneurs have not received assistance. Rather, the city has yet to demonstrate through publicly identified performance results whether the project has achieved its anticipated economic development objectives.

The distinction becomes increasingly important as City Council considers allowing another commercial establishment to occupy space within the building.

A karaoke bar could generate economic activity, employment and additional downtown foot traffic. However, the question remains whether the establishment would participate in the incubator’s business development program or simply operate as another commercial tenant.

The original federal grant contemplated a retail center alongside the incubator, meaning commercial leasing alone does not establish that the city has departed from the authorized project.

Nevertheless, residents have reason to question whether the building is functioning primarily as an economic development incubator or increasingly as a municipal commercial leasing facility.