The largest redevelopment project the City of El Paso has ever taken on is moving closer to reality. The 30 acre site in Northeast El Paso was originally a shopping center built in the 1960s that had lost its economic advantages to newer retail models. The mall complex sat vacant and unused before the city purchased it for demolition. As part of Plan El Paso, the city’s new comprehensive plan, Dover-Kohl designed a mixed-use walkable neighborhood anchored by a new transit terminal to replace the vacant structure.
The new transit terminal will be a major stop for one of the city’s new bus rapid transit lines. The city recently received a federal grant to build the transit terminal that will make it possible to move quickly and efficiently between the new mixed-use development and Downtown El Paso.
The city, meanwhile, is in the final stages of selecting a developer for the rest of the site following an RFP process for which three different developers submitted plans to implement the plans drawn up during Plan El Paso. The mixed-use transit-oriented development could break ground as early as next year.