Pharr

Las Milpas' small community is located right along the border of Mexico and between San Juan and McAllen in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. Due to the proximity of the Pharr–Reynosa International Bridge, binational trade is a prominent economical element of the entire McAllen region. Las Milpas, along with its neighboring cities, has experienced exponential growth in the last few years. McAllen is hard at work to provide additional resources and support for its community through dedicated public service employees and improvement plans for drainage, sewage and road work. “You’ll never see a light bulb out or a pothole unfilled for more than two days,” says Regina Acosta, a market research analyst for the city of McAllen. “You won’t find that type of standard in other big cities in Texas.” Las Milpas and its surrounding colonias may be growing due to Winter Texans and young professionals, but the community always finds comfort in the McAllen motto: “These are our roots. We are the flowers.” According to Alejandro Rios, a representative and activist of Visit McAllen, tradition is as important to Las Milpas and McAllen as enhancing residents’ quality of life. “Everyone who moves here brings their own stories,” Rios says. “We want to celebrate this new growth while honoring our past.” McAllen is considered one of South Texas’ shopping epicenters and only minutes from home, along with local and chain restaurants. Las Milpas is also a haven for birding as it is a prominent migration corridor for over 400 species of birds and butterflies. Some of the houses in Las Milpas date back to the mid-20th century, but there are also many homes here that sprouted after the turn of the 21st century. Most of the modern options around the area are single-story new traditional-style homes of between 1,100 and 1,500 square feet. A few residences feature Mediterranean influences and deeply shaded porches. Houses here line a grid network of neatly organized residential blocks, often framed by sidewalks. Empty lots around Las Milpas are usually between one-tenth and one-fifth of an acre. Sale prices in this community usually start at $100,000 and top $220,000. Las Milpas is served by Valley View Independent School District (Pharr) and Pharr-San Juan-Alamo School District. Both offer free broadband internet for households with enrolled students in the area. Las Milpas’ youngest can attend Cesar Chavez Elementary School, which earns a C score on Niche, before moving on to Valley View Junior High School, graded C-plus by Niche. Valley View High School has a B-minus Niche score. Locals are no more than about 15 miles from either McAllen, Mission or the heart of Pharr — three of Hidalgo County’s four biggest cities. The center of Pharr is roughly 6 miles away on U.S. Route 281, and Mission is 15 miles away via Texas State Highway 336. McAllen, Hidalgo County’s largest city, is just 9 miles away, without even having to hop on a highway, along with McAllen International Airport and South Texas Health System Heart, 8 miles away. Las Milpas’ recreational centerpiece is Jones Box Park, which was renovated in 2017. The park includes a playground, a splash pad and athletic fields. Jones Box Park is just about a block from the local library, which opened in 2018 and is dubbed the Pharr Development & Research Center. Nearby, McAllen also offers an impressive library. “We have the largest one-story library in the country,” Rios says. “It used to be a Walmart, and then the city bought it, and now it has this ultra-modern design.” The library is now a significant community hub and hosts a Saturday farmer’s market. Popular pastimes include pedal boating or kayaking in the metro area's Town Lake at Fireman's Park or driving to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge or Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park to watch hundreds of Monarch butterflies and birds migrate through Las Milpas and into Mexico. A few restaurants are sprinkled along South Cage Boulevard, including Snack Stop Diner. This retro-style restaurant has checkerboard floors, classic car-themed booths and arcade games. Big G Grocery & Meat Market is another well-liked option, renowned in part for its buffet. Multiple shopping centers sit along Interstate 2, including Las Tiendas Shopping Center, home to Costco, H-E-B, Target and Walmart. Farther out towards McAllen is La Plaza Mall, one of the area’s largest shopping centers with big department stores and a movie theater. Flea markets are another popular source of shopping, including Mercadome Flea Market and Alamo Dance Hall off Expressway 83. Jones Box Park hosts a variety of events every year. Among them is an Independence Day Festival, with food, a carnival, a petting zoo and fireworks. There are also movie-in-the-park nights at Jones Box, and the park has hosted a trunk-or-treat for Halloween, too. The Payne Arena is one of many live entertainment venues around Las Milpas, specifically showcasing Latino artists or various football and soccer games. Along Oval Park in nearby McAllen is the McAllen Convention Center, a popular spot to host quinceañeras and comic cons, and the McAllen Performing Arts Center. Orchestra and symphony performances grace its large, amphitheater-shaped auditorium stage. McAllen hosts the largest holiday parade in Texas. Daylong festivities start with a toy giveaway at the city’s senior center, followed by an extravagant parade. Brightly illuminated floats and marching bands parade fill the streets and are narrated by celebrity hosts like Mario Lopez. Crowds chant to spin the floats around in circles as they make their way to Municipal Park on Bicentennial Boulevard for a festive carnival celebration.