Americas Interchange 51% Complete

The latest newsletter from the Americas Interchange website states that construction is 51% complete with no change to the scheduled completion date of January 2013.

According to the newsletter, 49 out of 93 columns have been completed and 37 of 363 concrete beams have been placed. Motorists will begin to use the newly constructed Gateway East in mid-March, and the northbound 375 Exit 44A ramp will be permanently closed later this month in order to begin construction of that direct connector. Vehicles will have to use the North Loop exit in order to access I-10.

Newly released images show that the majority of work has concentrated on the South 375 to West I-10 direct connector.

Americas Interchange March 2012 Newsletter (PDF): http://www.crrma.org/americas/_documents/Americas%20Interchange%20Project%20Newsletter%20(March%202012).pdf

'Aldea' to Create Urban Village on West Side

A new 204 acre urban town center development should break ground in the next couple of years on the west side in an area bounded by I-10, Executive Center Blvd, and Mesa Street. Aldea El Paso will be a large, mixed-use, smart code development which will include commercial/retail, hotels, housing, restaurants, and entertainment. This is not to be confused with the ongoing Montecillo construction, which is adjacent to this property, immediately to the north. They are two different projects.

A Walmart store will serve as an anchor in Aldea with other big box opportunities spread throughout the development. Smaller retail and restaurants will occupy freeway frontage located along what plans currently show as Walton Way. The design of the Walmart has changed from the original plan in order to adapt to smart code principles, a requirement that the City imposed on the developer in order for incentives to be approved.

The main town center development will occur along the two major boulevards running through the development, Mesa Park Blvd. and Rio Bravo Drive with the highest density buildings located nearest to their intersection. Commercial/Retail and a possible hotel will be located at the intersection, with building facades running along the street; there will be little to zero setbacks. This will be the case for most buildings in the development.

Highest densities will be seen nearest to the large intersection. Note that parking is located in the interior areas of blocks.

Housing will mainly be concentrated on the northern end of the development, but there will also be denser housing in the southeast sector. Green space will include traditional parks, streetscapes, xeric landscapes, urban arroyo landscapes, desert arroyo re-vegetation, and retail/residential landscapes.

Aldea Park Plan

Parking for most structures will be located behind buildings or in the center of blocks. Parking structures will be lined by commercial and retail uses which will hide the parking areas. The focus will be on creating interesting facades along most roads in the development.

The developer is joining with TxDOT to create a new interchange at the intersection of I-10 and Mesa Park Blvd. The plan also includes new Gateway type frontage roads that will stretch along the freeway from Executive Center Blvd to the new Mesa Park intersection. This will eliminate certain on ramps and off ramps and move them to the new intersection. Further west, Rio Bravo will be a very broad boulevard that may include dedicated transit lanes which will serve Sun Metro and Bus Rapid Transit routes. It will also stretch into the new Montecillo smart code development immediately to the north.

New Gateway-type Frontage Roads built along I-10

The Aldea El Paso master plan is broken down into 23 blocks, with statistics calculated for each block including commercial retail square footage and housing units. In all, the initial plan calls for 1,245 total residential units and 1,008,850 square feet of retail space. The plan also shows 300 hotel units (probably split between two hotels) and 265,150 square feet of office space. A movie theater complex is planned for the eastern edge of the site.

Albuquerque-based Geltmore, LLC, is the developer of Aldea El Paso. No definite timeline has been given for the project's completion, but Geltmore has previously stated that it could range anywhere from six to 20 years. No signs of site preparation are yet visible.

Geltmore's Aldea El Paso web page: http://www.geltmore.com/aldeaelpaso.html

I-10 Beautification Moves Forward; Airway First

The Interstate 10 overpass at Airway Boulevard will be the first to benefit from a City-backed beautification project that will stretch along the freeway from Hawkins to Executive Blvd. City Council on Tuesday voted to move forward with the aesthetic improvements at Airway because highway funds are already available but must be used at that specific location.

According to the I-10 Corridor Aesthetic Master Plan, the project will include improvements to slope paving, landscaping, medians, facades, columns, lighting, walkways, abutments, and general neighborhood identity. The illustrative plan presented in the master plan is not final and will change based on community feedback received in coming meetings. Vicki Scuri, the projects public art consultant, has stated that the project is an opportunity for the City to convey neighborhood identities to commuters. 

The project will have $10 Million to work with and should be completed by 2015. After that, the Downtown bridges would be in line for improvements. The total cost for all improvements along I-10 are projected to be upwards of $170 Million.

CRRMA Projects Website: http://www.crrma.org/projects.asp

El Paso Times article: http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_20168455/council-oks-airway-1st-interchange-i-10-face

UTEP Plan Shows Schuster Realignment

The UTEP Master Plan, unveiled last year, shows massive changes, including a doubling of building space, removing vehicular traffic from the campus core, and a realignment of Schuster Avenue which will move it southward and create an overpass at I-10.

Currently, Schuster Ave. takes a curve northward and then back westward when approaching the freeway from the east. In the new plan, Schuster continues westward in a nearly straight line, crossing I-10 via a new overpass that the City has said it supports. If all goes as planned, Schuster would connect to Paisano, making the campus more accessible for students.

It's still unclear how a Border Highway west extension would connect to the plan. Previous mentions of the 375 extension have indicated that the main lanes of the new freeway would float above Paisano.

Northwest Plan Doubles Open Space, Adds 'Villages'

The firm tasked with developing a new master plan for City owned land in Northwest El Paso has unveiled pieces of the plan in draft form. Dover Kohl held a charrette workshop in January of this year in which it narrowed down the changes to the master plan with the public's help.

Master Plan revision developed by Dover Kohl.

One major change is the amount of open space in the plan, which has increased to 65%, up from only 32% in the previous plan. This means that the amount of develop-able land has decreased from 1,182 acres to 824 acres. Despite the decrease in land that can be used for development, changes in zoning and density account for an actual increase in housing units, population, and employment options in the new plan.

As a result of density increases and use of mixed-use types of development, the plan envisions more walkable neighborhoods. Walking-distances from homes to restaurants and shops could decrease from 4,660 feet to 1,182 feet. Distances to parks and schools could go from 2,957 feet to 824 feet.

Neighborhoods nearest the eastern edges of the plan area could see additional entrances to Franklin Mountain State Park, with trailheads located at convenient points. Other amenities could include many playgrounds, a dog park, an amphitheater, gardens, an equestrian facility, a skate park, and two large regional parks with soccer fields, baseball diamonds, tennis and basketball courts, a recreation center, gymnasium, and swimming pool.

The master plan envisions four or five distinct "village" type neighborhoods built with higher densities towards the center and surrounding gardens and public spaces. Preserved arroyos would run between these villages, providing other opportunities for natural parks and connected trails. The neighborhoods would be built in phases, and the first phase would be closest to existing development.

The Public Service Board voted at its March 5 meeting to approve the changes to the master plan. The next step is to create a smart code rezoning application to send to the City Plan Commission and then to City Council for approval. (There is a pending recommendation from the Open Space Advisory Board that could lead to changes to open space in the final master plan.)

Northwest Master Plan Presentation (PDF): http://planelpaso.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Transmountain-Northwest-Plan-WIP_for-web.pdf
Original Master Plan from 2005: http://www.epwu.org/public_info/westside_master_plan.html