Members of the El Paso City Council may decide this week whether to approve a new site for the construction of a multi-purpose center.
Approved by voters nearly 12 years ago as part of a sweeping $473 million Quality of Life bond, the project was derailed when city officials announced that the facility would be built in the historic downtown neighborhood of Duranguito.
Legal challenges over a span of nearly eight years opposing that site and emphasizing the cultural importance of the largely Hispanic section of the city finally prompted the City of El Paso to announce it was actively looking for another place to build the structure.
In February, the city council announced it was considering selecting a 13-acre site near the city’s old Union Depot station, which is located at 700 W. San Francisco Avenue.
A rendering presented to the city council has shown an oblong-shaped site for the arena, with both extensive retail and open space.
The site is currently home to a bus maintenance facility requiring an environmental cleanup that would include soil excavation and the removal of underground storage tanks.
That process, according to the publication El Paso Inc., could cost anywhere from $600,000 to $2.7 million: “The cost of the cleanup would be added to the project total.”
According to city documents, if the Union Depot site is selected, the project will embrace “multi-modal transit, and encourage mass transit as a main point of access for what is imagined to be a pedestrian-oriented development.”
By Garry Boulard