A new hotel/retail complex for a property near El Paso International Airport is expected to break ground this year, and now a video is offering a fresh look at what the center may look like once completed.
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| A look down Acequia Park Court towards the high rise Westin Hotel near the El Paso International Airport. This rendering shows what the hotel/retail complex may look like once completed. (Ronkot Design Vimeo Channel) |
The design of the complex in the renderings included in the video shows a contemporary design for the buildings, which create retail blocks on the property with parking in the middle. Bright colors, curving lines, and fountains can be found throughout the expected 80,000 square feet of retail space.
A “main street” divides the property down the middle, called Acequia Park Court. It will have retail buildings lining both sides, with zero setbacks and street parking. Other retail buildings will line Boeing Drive on the northern side of the property, including the highly visible intersection with Airway Boulevard.
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| A bird’s eve view of the future hotel and retail complex near the El Paso International Airport. (Ronkot Design Vimeo Channel) |
Acequia Park Court will lead up to the new high rise Westin Hotel, ending at a proposed drive called High Street. The hotel shape has changed from triangular in initial site plans to a more traditional rectangular footprint. And the height looks to be a bit shorter, with between nine and ten floors included in the new concept imagery.
The hotel may also have a contemporary look, according to the video. Four huge circular cutouts run down the middle of the building along a wide decorative column, the base of which contains a large waterfall feature. This columns lines up with Acequia Park Court.
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| Acequia Park Court will have restaurants and retailers lining both sides of the “main” street. (Ronkot Design Vimeo Channel) |
Neon-colored rectangles can be seen interspersed along the facade of the hotel, surrounding multiple hotel windows each. These are lit up at night in the video, matching neon arcs on some of the retail structures.
The video was posted to Vimeo in July by Ronkot Design of Fort Worth (www.ronkot.com).
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| The latest site plan shows some changes to the hotel's footprint and the removal of a roundabout. (via Construction Reporter News, constructionreporternews.com) |
The layout of the buildings matches a recently unveiled updated site plan featured by Construction Reporter News (constructionreporternews.com). Aside from the major change in shape of the hotel, the layout of the complex remains largely similar to previous versions, with the biggest change being the removal of a roundabout in front of the hotel. Retail buildings in that section have been changed accordingly.
The site plan features parking areas in the middle of the retail blocks, plus hotel parking located on the western side of the property. A ponding area on the northwestern corner will be used as open space.
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| A daytime rendering of the Westin complex. (Ronkot Design Vimeo Channel) |
Last year, the City of El Paso awarded an incentives package to EP Vida, LLC, to develop the nine-acre property into a four-star hotel and retail complex. As part of the agreement, the hotel will have at least 220 rooms. In all, the project is expected to be at $64 million, according to the package.
The timeline for the project has shifted, with groundbreaking originally scheduled for earlier this year. In February, the developer announced that Jordan Foster Construction would perform “predevelopment services” for the project and likely serve as general contractor.
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| The Westin Hotel will rise nine to ten stories, according to this rendering. (Ronkot Design Vimeo Channel) |
That same month, EP Vida told the El Paso Times that construction would begin in June. Then in July, the developer told the Times that revisions to the property’s plat has delayed the project and that they weren’t sure when construction will begin. The developer also suggested the project will be built in two phases, with construction of the hotel happening first.
The hotel/retail complex was originally slated for completion in fall of 2015, though it is unclear if that deadline can still be met.