Collaborative Office Space Opens in Historic Downtown Building

By Armando Landin

The second floor of a historic building in Downtown El Paso is now home to a new collaborative office space. The 5,500 square foot space, named One : One, is on the second level of 500 North Oregon, a building completed in 1901.

A new collaborative office space has opened in Downtown El Paso on the second level of a historic building. (Courtesy One : One)

The renovated layout of One : One includes offices with glass walls, desks and seating areas in an open space, and conference rooms encased in glass cubes.

Lofts Breathe New Life Into Historic Five Points Building

By Armando Landin     

The historic Five Points neighborhood in Central El Paso has seen a steady resurgence in recent years, and a recently completed renovation project is adding loft apartments to the mix.

Left: Stairs lead to the street level entrance of the Stevens Block 3 Lofts in Central El Paso. Right: A newly renovated loft space still includes historic touches such as exposed brick. (Courtesy Hiett, Pharr & Associates)

Stevens Block 3 Lofts are now open at 801 North Piedras Street on the second level of the historic Stevens Building, built in 1921.

Avalon West: Phase One of New Desert Pass Development

By Armando Landin
 
A new project featuring apartment homes in West El Paso is the first part of a multi-phase development bringing residential and commercial uses to a long-vacant area off of Interstate 10 and Resler Drive.

The Avalon West apartment community is the first project to open along Desert Pass Street, a new area between Remcon Circle and Resler Drive in West El Paso. (Courtesy Maria Nuzzo/Bohannon Development)

Avalon West, an apartment community that will be built in two phases, officially opened its doors on July 22, 2016.

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.

New Details Emerge for Montecillo Town Center

By Armando Landin   

A greater number of apartments and less street retail space are some of the details discovered in recent renderings and leasing listings for the Montecillo Town Center, the smart growth development currently under construction in West El Paso.

Retail and mixed-use buildings surround a plaza at the future Montecillo Town Center, currently under construction on El Paso's West Side. (EPT Communities)

As vertical construction nears, we're getting a clearer picture of the final layout for the buildings that will make up the Town Center and the form those buildings will take.

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.

Canyons at Cimarron Bringing 'Casual Lifestyle' Shopping Center to West El Paso

By Armando Landin   

A new, "casual lifestyle" shopping center is headed to West El Paso and will be located in the Cimarron master planned community.

This rendering depicts one of the "Main Street" areas of the future Canyons at Cimarron, planned for West El Paso. (EP Riverbend Development)

The Canyons at Cimarron will be an open air, walkable center which will include 92,000 square feet of space for retail, restaurant, and office uses.

'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.

La Madeleine Coming to 'La Villita' in West El Paso

A new La Madeleine Country French Cafe is headed to West El Paso, according to City permits. The restaurant will be located in the same shopping center as a new Whole Foods Market.

The 4,500 square foot restaurant will be located in the La Villita shopping center at 6801 North Mesa Street, a curved retail, office, and restaurant area leading into the Whole Foods Market parking lot.

'La Villita' will be Retail Center Attached to Whole Foods Market

By Armando Landin

Whole Foods Market is scheduled to open in West El Paso in late 2016 and will anchor an attached retail center called "La Villita." The center will include retail, restaurant, and office space at the corner of North Mesa Street and Pitt Street.

These renderings show what the La Villita retail center may look like, now under construction in West El Paso next to an upcoming Whole Foods Market. (RJL Real Estate)

La Villita will include approximately 26,500 square feet of retail space, 6,900 square feet for restaurants, and 12,000 square feet for upper level office space.

'Down TI:ME' now Under Construction at Montecillo

A planned new addition to TI:ME at Montecillo is now under construction at West El Paso's smart growth development, according to a press release.

'Down TI:ME' is now under construction at the Montecillo development in West El Paso, pictured in this rendering. (Courtesy Pan y Agua Partners)

Dubbed "Down TI:ME," the building will be constructed just west of the existing retail and restaurant area at the corner of Mesa Street and Montecillo.

Infill Spree Continues with Murchison Project in Central El Paso

A vacant Central El Paso property may see new activity in the form of an infill project revealed in City documents. The property is located at the corner of Murchison Drive and Cotton Street.

New apartment buildings may spring up as part of a Central El Paso infill project. The mixed-use project includes office space on the first floor. (City of El Paso)

According to the master zoning plan, the developer plans to construct a mixed-use development consisting of four narrow 3-story apartment buildings whose facades will face Cotton Street.

Infill Project Planned for Vacant Downtown Property Along I-10

Recent rezoning plans filed with the City of El Paso show an office/retail project may be planned for a prominent property near Downtown along Interstate 10.

An infill project is planned for a long-vacant property across I-10 from Downtown El Paso. (City of El Paso)

The property sits adjacent to the westbound lanes of I-10, sandwiched between West Yandell Drive and Prospect Street on the southern edge of the Sunset Heights neighborhood and is currently vacant.

Aldea Developer Seeks Incentives Agreement for I-10 Overpass Construction

The developer of the future Aldea SmartCode project in West El Paso is seeking a Chapter 380 incentives agreement for construction of a freeway overpass adjacent to the property.

A new overpass is planned at Interstate 10 for Mesa Park Drive, the main thoroughfare that will take I-10 commuters into and out of the 196 acre Aldea development. Mesa Park will cross I-10 about three quarters of a mile north of Executive Center Boulevard.

The new Mesa Park Drive overpass is denoted here by a green arrow. The new interchange will provided access to the Aldea El Paso project on the West Side. (Schematic: City Council Agenda)

The agreement would provide Geltmore, LLC, the developer, with incentives in the form of rebates on the City's portion of sales and use tax. The incentive could total between $3.7 million and $4.7 million, depending on the cost of construction. The rebates will be calculated on sales by retailers within the Aldea development.

Update: City Approves 'Metro 31' Mixed Use Project for Northeast El Paso

City Council voted unanimously today to approve the new SmartCode, mixed-use project planned for Northeast El Paso at the former Northpark Mall property. This gives Hunt Development Group the green light from the City to move forward with final design and construction for the vacant 31-acre property.

An artistic rendering of the western entrance to the Metro 31 development off of Diana Street, coming to Northeast El Paso in the next few years. (City Council Agenda)

Up next, Hunt will seek a similar incentives agreement from the County of El Paso worth $5 million, which would add to the $13.7 million that City approved.

Read our previous story from November 28, 2014: This is 'Metro 31': City Reveals Northgate SmartCode Project Details

This is 'Metro 31': City Reveals Northgate SmartCode Project Details

Hunt Development Group Proposal Awaits Council Approval

Update: City Council has approved the project.  Read More >>

Original Story: 
The City of El Paso has unveiled details on the planned 31-acre transit-oriented mixed-use project slated for the former Northpark Mall site in Northeast El Paso at the corner of Dyer Street and Diana Drive. The proposal, submitted by Hunt Development Group, will be considered by Council on December 2, 2014.

This concept image shows a residential area within Metro 31, the SmartCode development planned for Northeast El Paso. (City Council Agenda)

Renderings of the project, which is called Metro 31 in several places within the development agreement, show buildings laid out in an urban fashion with little to no setbacks from streets. Structures are of varying height and scale, with some apartment buildings rising four stories.

Whole Foods Market Site Plan Revealed, Includes Adjacent Shopping Center

Whole Foods Market officially announced its El Paso location two weeks ago, verifying that it will build a new store on North Mesa Street on the West Side. Now, a rezoning application filed with the City shows the potential site plan for the property on which the grocery store will sit.

The site plan for a development which includes a Whole Foods Market shows its proposed location in West El Paso. An adjacent center may include restaurant, retail, and office uses. (Original Site Plan: City Council Agenda)

Plans show a 45,000 square foot store with a 5,000 square foot mezzanine for a total of 50,000 square feet of space for the Whole Foods Market, which will go up at the corner of North Mesa Street and Pitt Street, about 600 feet east of North Resler Drive. It will be situated towards the back of the property with parking located on the north and east sides of the building.

Weekly Edition, Issue 54

The Weekly Edition, Issue 54 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:

• El Paso Looks to Revamps Street Design Guidelines: City May Adopt Bike, Pedestrian Friendly Layouts for Roadways
• Moves Made on Large Northeast El Paso Property: Owner Seeks Commercial Zone for 35-Acre Development

>>> GO TO THE WEEKLY EDITION <<<

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Office Park Expands in West El Paso

Ventanas Corporate Center to Begin Phase Two

A budding office park is ready to begin its second phase of construction in West El Paso. Ventanas Corporate Center, located off Sunland Park Drive west of Interstate 10, is adding two more buildings to the site, an L-shaped property tucked behind the Holiday Inn Sunland Park.

This rendering shows what the Ventanas Corporate Center will look like when construction on Phase Two is completed. (EP Riverbend Development)

The two new structures will add a total of 19,600 square feet of space and be constructed just south of the existing Phase One buildings.

A Bird's Eye View of the Montecillo Town Center Project

Local contractor firm, ZTEX Construction (www.ztexconst.com), posted a new vantage point earlier this month for the upcoming Montecillo Town Center in West El Paso.

This aerial photograph, posted in mid-January by ZTEX Construction of El Paso, shows progress at the Montecillo Town Center project. (facebook.com/ztexconst)

The image is a bird’s eye view of the construction site looking west. The 50-acre plus project includes moving a massive amount of dirt to make room for the Town Center, which will be constructed on a heavily sloped property.

No less than eleven structures will be built at the Town Center and will include retail, office, and residential space. An Alamo Drafthouse theater has been the only tenant announced to date.

Another view from within the Montecillo Town Center construction site, this one from ground level looking northeast. (facebook.com/ztexconst)

The new image posted by ZTEX was taken using a small remote-controlled helicopter with a camera on board. Mesa Street can be seen at the western edge of the site, with the Venue at Montecillo apartment buildings across the street.

ZTEX Construction has worked on several large-scale projects in the area, including the Fountains at Farah shopping center, the Outlet Shoppes at El Paso, and the downtown Triple-A baseball stadium.