Zoho plans to manufacture on its 1,050-acre campus north of Edinburg

MCALLEN, Texas – Global technology company Zoho plans to manufacture products on a 1,050-acre campus it is developing north of Edinburg.

Details were provided by Raudel Garza, executive director of Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, when he spoke at a Greater McAllen Association of Realtors event. 

“I can tell you that they (Zoho) are working on some plans to build some buildings up there right now that will consist of manufacturing facilities. I can’t get into the details yet as to size, but it’ll be something that will be very impressive,” said Garza, during the Q&A part of the meeting. 

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“Zoho is committed to the region. And I say the region because it’s not just Edinburg that they’re looking at. They continue to look around (the Rio Grande Valley).”

Zoho Corporation, headquartered in Chennai, India, is known for its suite of business software and web-based tools.

Garza said another project Zoho is developing will incorporate Edinburg’s iconic Echo Hotel. Garza said that project is being referred to in-house as the corporation’s “crown jewel” in the Rio Grande Valley. 

“Zoho is going to be a very good impact for the Rio Grande Valley in general. They’re looking at a lot of different things. They are involved in a lot of different things, other than just software development. But software development is one of their mainstays, and that’s what’s happening in what they call the crown jewel, which is the Echo,” Garza said, in responser to a question from veteran broadcaster Ron Whitlock of Ron Whitlock Reports.

In his presentation from the podium, Garza said:

“Zoho has 1,050 acres on the north side of Edinburg. From that property, they’re going to develop some additional buildings and bring in some other manufacturing from some related companies that they own. 

“At the Echo… they’re going to maintain the integrity of the tower, and then they’re going to build some additional office space. I can’t say how much, because that’s still in flux. But it is going to be a lot, and there’s going to be hundreds of jobs.”

Garza said the Echo project covers 14 acres.

In his presentation, Garza gave an in-depth explanation as to why Zoho was developing in the Valley, and also why they chose Edinburg, rather than McAllen as first envisaged.

“I’ll tell tell you all a little bit of the background on Zoho. It was back in 2023 that McAllen said Zoho was coming into the region. And Zoho has been in McAllen for since, I guess, April of 2023. They have well over 75 or 80 employees right now working there, but Zoho has plans to grow in this region.”

The reason Zoho is developing in the Valley, Garza said, is because so many of the applicants looking to work for the company in Austin came from the region. 

“Before they decided on McAllen, they came down, unbeknownst to most of us, because at that time, I was actually still working for Harlingen. So five years, six years ago, they came into the area. They were looking and trying to figure out where to go. They looked at the Echo Hotel back then, that’s what they told me. They looked at Edinburg, they looked at McAllen, they looked at Mission, they looked at Harlingen, and they looked at Brownsville. They ended up in McAllen, because that was a bright spot for them at that time.

“And then they were working through the process of trying to develop a campus on 90 acres that is adjacent to the old Palmview golf course (in McAllen). Things didn’t work out the way they wanted it in terms of their timetable, so they switched gears and started looking for other property.”