The developer of the Montecillo SmartCode project on El Paso’s west side is preparing to break ground on the future Town Center area of the development. Now, a site plan has appeared on Montecillo’s website (www.eptmontecillo.com) as part of a brochure highlighting the Town Center.
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| Montecillo's Town Center site plan shows several blocks with retail, office, and residential uses. (eptmontecillo.com) |
Eight “blocks” make up the Town Center, which largely resembles the layout shown in a concept video that was released last year. Montecillo Drive winds through the area, taking a curving northeasterly route that will eventually lead up to a housing area to the east.
The first block in the lifestyle center will contain the 910-seat Alamo Drafthouse movie theater that was announced earlier this year. It is located in the easternmost part of the Town Center, along with a 12,000 square foot, two level office building. It includes the largest parking area on the site, a 444 space lot that will be placed behind the two buildings.
Block number two is situated on the northwestern corner of the center. The main east-west street will run in front of two dynamically-shaped buildings in this block. The larger, embedded building will have 13,000 square feet of retail and 56 residential units on 2.5 levels, according to the brochure. The smaller building, part of which faces Mesa Street, will have 5,000 square feet of retail and 24,000 square feet of office space. Two parking lots and some street parking will contribute 191 spaces in this block.
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| The Town Center is just a small part of the larger 292 acre Montecillo SmartCode development. (eptmontecillo.com) |
The third block is surrounded by streets on all sides, including Mesa Street. It contains 24,000 square feet of retail distributed among two buildings with a pedestrian passageway that splits them. The buildings look to have nearly zero-setbacks with on-street parking contributing 75 spaces.
The fourth block is generally in the middle of the Town Center and will contain a two level structure with 28,000 square feet of retail space and 43 residential units. This building has the largest footprint of any of the blocks and will be served by a two level, integrated parking structure, a surface parking lot, and street parking that will combine to contribute 218 spaces.
A green plaza will sit in the middle of blocks two, three, and four, with street parking lining each side. Escalators will take pedestrians from the retail areas in block four to the movie theater in block one.
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| This concept image, captured from a "fly-over" video at Montecillo's website, shows escalators leading pedestrians to the future movie theater building. |
The fifth block will contain one big box retail building of 37,000 square feet. A large, 106 space parking lot will sit in front of the building. No indication is given as to which retailer may occupy the space.
Blocks numbers six, seven, and eight consist of one individual building in each block, climbing the hill along an unnamed road. Two buildings will contain 4,100 and 6,100 square feet of retail space. The third building at the southern edge of the Town Center will provide 20,200 square feet of office space.
In all, the site plan contains 31,100 square feet of entertainment (movie theater), 37,700 square feet of big box retail, 80,200 square feet of “street retail,” 56,200 square feet of commercial office space, and 99 residential units.
Currently, the site of the future lifestyle center is a small valley between two hills that overlook Mesa Street. Construction should start soon, though no completion date has been given by the developer. To date, Alamo Drafthouse is the only tenant that has been announced.