One of Northeast El Paso’s largest retail projects in years is getting underway as crews have now begun groundwork at the North Hills Crossing development. The center will take a prominent retail spot at US-54 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard when it opens next year.
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| Rendering of the future North Hills Crossing shopping center, now under construction in Northeast El Paso. (www.ropelpaso.com) |
Crews began moving dirt earlier this month, with ZTEX Construction of El Paso as earthwork subcontractor on the project. The company will complete earthwork, utilities, paving, and erosion control.
The general contractor on the project is EMJ Construction of Dallas, the same company that served in that role at the popular Fountains at Farah center in East El Paso which was completed last year. River Oaks Properties of El Paso is developing the center.
Plans for the 30-acre North Hills Crossing site came to light last year, showing a 200,000+ square foot shopping center that will have a generally standard power center layout. Various site plans have been available since then, along with a rotating list of unofficial retail tenants based on the schematics.
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| The latest available site plan shows a mix of retailers for North Hills Crossing, and a few unnamed restaurants. |
The latest marketing flyer for the project still shows a Walmart Neighborhood Market taking the largest anchor spot on the western end of the main shopping center building. Moving eastward, stores shown include Petco, Dollar Tree, Ross, Marshall’s, Rack Room Shoes, Rue 21, and Big Lots. In addition, a rendering of the center at the developer’s website shows a possible Office Depot location.
The list of possible eateries shown on site plans has changed greatly, with only one restaurant now displayed: McDonald’s. There are four other spots on outparcels that are labeled “Restaurant” or “Fast Food,” but offer no other details. Previous versions showed eateries which are no longer included, such as Taco Cabana and Panda Express.
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| A bird’s eye view of the North Hills Crossing site which recently broke ground. (Courtesy ZTEX Construction) |
North Hills Crossing shows an uptick in new retail activity in Northeast El Paso, which will also see its first Sam’s Club store open later this year at Gateway North Boulevard and Diana Drive. And even more retail could be announced later this year as City officials are preparing to reveal plans for the Northgate development on Dyer Street, currently a huge vacant lot.
Residents have long bemoaned the lack of retail options in Northeast which forces many to drive to other parts of the city to patronize malls or stores like Target. It remains to be seen if the new and not-so-new retailers that ultimately take spots at North Hills Crossing will help satisfy Northeast residents’ retail hopes.
North Hills Crossing is scheduled for completion in summer of 2015.