26-Story Tower Proposed for Downtown El Paso

By Armando Landin   

Plans are in the works to bring a 26-story, mixed-use tower to El Paso's downtown. The brand new addition to the city's skyline would include a mix of retail spaces, hotel rooms, and apartments, at the corner of Mills Avenue and Campbell Street.

A 26-story mixed-use building has been proposed for Downtown El Paso. (Kobi Karp Architecture via City of El Paso)

An eight-level parking garage is also part of the overall structure.

City to Vote on Convention Center Hotel Incentives

By Armando Landin

The long awaited renovation of the Hotel Paso del Norte in Downtown El Paso is one step closer to reality as City Council will vote this week on incentives for the project.

A 10th-floor swimming pool and spa area are included as part of the Hotel Paso del Norte renovation in Downtown El Paso. (City of El Paso)

The hotel, formerly the Camino Real Hotel, was purchased earlier this year by the Meyers Group of Florida, a development company with ties to the El Paso area. It is located at 101 South El Paso Street.

Montecillo Announces Planned Four-Acre Resort

By Armando Landin

A new resort is set to join the Montecillo smart growth community on El Paso's West Side. The Resort at Montecillo is set to start construction later this year.

An overhead shot of the planned Resort at Montecillo which will start construction in fall of 2017 in West El Paso. (Courtesy EPT Land Communities)

The four-acre project will include various resort amenities, including a Resident Clubhouse, "resort style" water attractions, and an events center.

Massive East Side Entertainment-Retail Center Proposed

By Armando Landin

Far East El Paso could be in line for one of the biggest retail and entertainment centers the city has ever seen, according to plans for a new center at the Americas Interchange.

The proposed Plaza Del Rey development in El Paso spans nearly 300 acres and includes over 1.6 million square feet of retail space. (West Retail)

Plaza Del Rey would have a total of 2.8 million square feet of usable space if built as currently planned, including 1.68 million dedicated to retail alone which includes a proposed outlet mall.

32-Acre Mixed Use Center Planned for West El Paso

By Armando Landin
 
A new 32-acre shopping center is planned for Northwest El Paso and could be the first along the Transmountain corridor west of the Franklin Mountains.

Four restaurants surround a plaza in this rendering of the Legacy at Cimarron, a "mixed-use" development planned for West El Paso. (ESmith Legacy/RJL Real Estate)

The Legacy at Cimarron is billing itself as a mixed-use community that will offer space for retail shops, restaurants, and office uses. It also includes two hotels, with a total of 228 rooms.

Holiday Inn Express Planned for Northeast El Paso

By Armando Landin

Plans are underway to bring a Holiday Inn Express to Northeast El Paso. The four-story hotel is planned for a property along Gateway South Boulevard.

According to preliminary plans filed with the City of El Paso, the hotel will include 85 rooms with a total area of 54,160 square feet.

Plaza Hotel Renovations Moving Forward

Update: Work on the Plaza Hotel should start after renovations to the nearby Hotel Paso del Norte begin, according to the El Paso Inc. story. The tentative sale and planned renovation of the Paso del Norte has convinced Paul Foster that the Plaza Hotel project will now be viable.

Original Story:

The vacant Plaza Hotel tower in Downtown El Paso could soon see activity related to its long-awaited renovation.

The vacant Plaza Hotel in Downtown El Paso will proceed with renovations to return it to its glory days as a hotel, shown at left in this rendering. The Mills Building is to the right with the Hotel Paso del Norte in the background. (Mills Plaza Properties)

The El Paso County Historical Commission indicated on its Facebook page over the weekend that businessman Paul Foster has announced the project will proceed.

Downtown El Paso Alive with Investment

A Comprehensive List of Downtown Projects   

By Armando Landin   

A couple of years back, it was the hope of City officials that a new baseball stadium and other Quality of Life projects would breathe new life into Downtown revitalization efforts and spur private investment in El Paso's largely-ignored center.

Downtown El Paso is seeing a clear surge of investment with private and public projects spread throughout the area. 

The Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas are now in their third season, and two short years after Southwest University Park opened its gates on the site of the former City Hall, signs of burgeoning investment are becoming clear.

West El Paso Tower Approved by City Council

By Armando Landin   

City Council has unanimously approved a rezoning change that will allow the 22-story Shadow Mountain development in West El Paso to proceed.

The City of El Paso has approved the 22-story Shadow Mountain mixed use project on the West Side. (Meyers Group)

In a special meeting held solely to consider the project on July 19, 2016, City Representatives heard from members of the community on both sides of the issue, those supporting and those opposed to the tower.

$70M Camino Real Hotel Renovation Plan Announced

City officials have unveiled a plan to renovate the historic Hotel Paso del Norte in Downtown El Paso. The City is formalizing an agreement with Meyers Group of Florida and Two Sabes LLC of El Paso to perform the renovation.

Plans are underway to renovate the historic Hotel Paso del Norte in Downtown El Paso, currently operating as a Camino Real Hotel. (Camino Real El Paso)

In a joint effort, the two developers will embark on a $70 million project to turn the hotel, currently operating under the Camino Real brand, into the premier Downtown convention hotel. The developers will receive City, County, and State incentives if the deal is approved.

Update: City Postpones Vote on West Side Tower

Update: The El Paso City Council has postponed a vote on the Shadow Mountain development, stating the rezoning application will be considered in one week. City Council no longer holds weekly meetings, so it's unclear if the City will hold a special meeting or actually means the vote will be postponed until the next regular meeting on July 29, 2016. We will update the date of the vote when it is official.

Original Story:

Monday, July 11, 2016

El Paso City Representatives will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow a 22-story tower to go up on the West Side. City Council will vote on a rezoning request at its biweekly meeting.

The El Paso City Council will decide the fate of the proposed 22-story Shadow Mountain tower at its July 11, 2016 meeting. The existing Coronado Tower is to the right. (Meyers Group)

The project, located at 201 Shadow Mountain Drive, just east of the Sunland Park Drive and Mesa Street intersection, requires a General Mixed Use zone to allow for hotel, residential, and retail uses within the same building.

'Urban' Hotel Planned at Montecillo Development

By Armando Landin   

El Pasoans are getting and updated look at the Montecillo smart growth development on the West Side, which includes possible future highlights such as a "unique urban hotel."

A rendering shows what a Montecillo Town Center building may look like once complete in West El Paso, located on the east side of Mesa Street in a sloping valley. (www.montecillo.com)

That's according to website updates which tease new elements planned for the nearly 300-acre development.

22-Story Mixed-Use Tower Planned for West El Paso

By Armando Landin   

A Florida based developer plans to build a mixed-use tower in West El Paso in the coming years, according to City documents. The 22-story highrise will go up near the corner of Sunland Park Drive and Mesa Street on a currently vacant lot, on Shadow Mountain Drive.

A rendering of the Shadow Mountain mixed use tower, planned for West El Paso. (Meyers Group)

The tower will be a mix of hotel and apartment units, with retail proposed for the ground floor. It will rise 256 feet, making it the second tallest building in El Paso. The Wells Fargo building in Downtown El Paso is 296 feet tall.

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.

Courtyard by Marriott Plans New Hotel Next to Downtown Ballpark

Details have emerged on a brand new Courtyard by Marriott coming to Downtown El Paso. The new multi-floor hotel will have a prominent spot along I-10 and across the street from Southwest University Park, home of the El Paso Chihuahuas.

A Courtyard by Marriott hotel is planned for Downtown El Paso, as seen in this rendering from the architect. (Mitchell Carlson Stone, Inc.)

As first reported by El Paso Inc., the hotel project is led by Jim Scherr, the lawyer and businessman behind the renovation of the crumbling and vacant International Hotel into the Doubletree Hotel, just block away from the new Courtyard project.

City to Extend Westin Hotel/Retail Complex Deadlines

The stalled Westin Hotel and retail complex that is planned near the El Paso International Airport is not dead, according to a City Council agenda item. City Representatives will consider extending deadlines to the incentives package and lease agreement that was approved for the project in 2013 due to an active lawsuit brought by nearby hotels.

An artistic rendering of the Acequia Park hotel and retail development planned for El Paso International Airport land. (Ronkot Design Vimeo Channel) 

Acequia Park, the name given to the complex by the developer, EP Vida, will consist of a 220-room hotel and attached retail complex on nine acres at the corner of Airway Boulevard and Boeing Drive.

Airport Hotels Suing City of El Paso and Westin Developer

Two (possibly three) hotel operators near the El Paso International Airport are suing the City of El Paso and EP Vida, LLC, the developer of the high-rise Westin Hotel and attached retail complex that are planned for airport land.

The timeline for the Acequia Park hotel/retail project near the El Paso airport has shifted multiple times. A lawsuit naming the developer, EP Vida, will be discussed in Executive Session at the next City Council meeting. (Ronkot Design Vimeo Channel)

The City is scheduled to discuss two items in executive session on Tuesday, November 11, 2014, relating to EP Vida, which wants to build the Acequia Park hotel and retail complex that would include the Westin brand. The first item is the pending legal case while the second regards the Chapter 380 incentives package approved for the project last year.

Aloft Hotel Confirmed for Downtown El Paso

An Aloft Hotel location will open in Downtown El Paso, according to a press release issued today. The hotel, which is part of the Starwood Hotels group, will open in July of 2016.

An Aloft Hotel will open at Bassett Tower in Downtown El Paso in 2016.

The hotel will include 100 "loft-like" rooms, an indoor pool, a W XYZ bar, and 3,000 square feet of meeting space, according to the press release.

Will Downtown Get a New Convention Hotel?

Downtown El Paso could have a new convention hotel in the coming years. The City of El Paso is requesting proposals for a new full service hotel that would have 250 rooms, a swimming pool, and meeting space.

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Westin Hotel/Retail Complex Teased in New Video

Updated Renderings Show a Changed Footprint for High Rise Airport Hotel

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.

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.

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.