Downtown Aloft Hotel Transformation Gets Facade Improvement Grant

By Armando Landin

The historic Bassett Tower in Downtown El Paso is undergoing a transformation thanks to local investors, and now the project to open an Aloft Hotel at the site has received a facade improvement grant.

Bassett Tower in Downtown El Paso has received a facade improvement grant. The historic highrise will become an Aloft Hotel, scheduled to open in April 2017. (Downtown Management District)

Work is underway on the adaptive reuse project which will turn the 15-story former office building into a 100 room hotel. Bassett Tower was completed in 1930 and designed by Henry Trost, making the building architecturally significant and a historic landmark.

DMD Seeking Applicants for Façade Improvement Program

El Paso’s Downtown Management District (DMD) has $200,000 in funds available for downtown business and property owners as part of its Façade Improvement Program and is currently seeking applicants.

The Texas Store in Downtown El Paso received a $10,000 grant in 2009 to improve its façade. (Downtown Management District)

The grant money, if approved for façade improvements, will cover up to 75% of the project’s total cost, with a maximum grant of $50,000 for individual projects. Improvements that qualify, according to the DMD website (downtownelpaso.com), include window work, paint, canopies, signs, and restorative work. Changes to the property that are made in order to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements may also qualify for grants through the program.

Several downtown businesses have taken advantage of the program in previous years with many property owners seeing valuation increases due to improvements, according to the DMD’s Façade Program Report published in 2012.

Businesses interested in applying for the façade grants should contact Lilia Granillo at 915-400-2294. Improvements must be completed by July 2014 in order to qualify for the grants.

Weekly Edition, Issue 38

The Weekly Edition, Issue 38 has arrived! Take a look at the newest issue of our Weekly Edition, by clicking HERE. (Note: The newsletter will open in PDF format.)

In this edition:

• Public Art Projects to Surge in 2014
• DMD Seeking Applicants for Facade Improvement Program
• Mulligan Building Nears Completion

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Officials to Study Need for Downtown Parking Structure

Editor's Note: This story was first published at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, November 11, 2013 in our Weekly Edition. 

The City of El Paso is teaming up with the Downtown Management District and the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority (CRRMA) to fund a study that would assess the need for a new parking facility in Downtown.

This image shows a concept parking structure encased by liner buildings that could be used for housing, office, or retail, from the Design Manual of Plan El Paso.

The three parties will contribute $20,000 each toward the study for a total of $60,000. The area of focus will be near the new City Hall.

The CRRMA will manage the development of the study and will most likely award the contract to Atkins North America, Inc., the General Engineering Consultant for the Authority. The study should be completed within one year of the agreement’s start date.

Weekly Edition, Issue 32

The Weekly Edition, Issue 32 has arrived! Take a look at the newest issue of our Weekly Edition, by clicking HERE. (Note: The newsletter will open in PDF format.)

In this edition:
'Fountains at Farah' Officially Opens
Retail Buzz: Possible New Tenants Revealed for 'Fountains'
Officials to Study Need for Downtown Parking Structure
NewsBits by El Paso DevWire

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Downtown Management District Receives Awards for Leadership, Marketing

El Paso’s Downtown Management District (DMD) will receive two awards this year from the Washington, D.C.-based International Downtown Association (IDA), one for Leadership and Management, and another for Downtown Marketing and Communications.

The DMD will receive the IDA Pinnacle Award for its work in helping streamline the permitting process for holding events downtown. A special events record was broken last year as Downtown El Paso saw 20 events held. This is the first time in 12 years that the award has been won in the El Paso area.

In a press release, DMD Executive Director Veronica Soto stated, “These awards only reaffirm that Downtown El Paso is moving in the right direction, and now recognized by the international community as a driver of economic growth and civic health for the entire region.”