A new version of a plan that has been talked about for the most part of a decade has been introduced in El Paso.
As envisioned by the MCA Foundation, what would be essentially the creation of a city within a city would see the construction of any number of health care and health education facilities within a 440-acre section of Central El Paso.
The vast and sweeping vision also calls for the construction of streets, bike facilities, bridge and intersection improvements, and lighting and utility infrastructure that would cost around $81 million to complete.
With a long range timeline of at least 50 years, the project would essentially be an extension of the Medical Center of the Americas’ campus in El Paso, but would also see the new construction of both residential and commercial space.
The Central El Paso site in question is already the home to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s El Paso campus, the El Paso Department of Public Health, and the El Paso Children’s Hospital, among other facilities.
In order for the infrastructure part of the plan to become reality, a current tax increment reinvestment zone that takes in 70 acres of the site would have to be expanded to include the entire 440 acres of the planned medical city, using tax revenues to pay for the infrastructure work.
The most recent version of the plan, developed by the architectural firm of Perkins and Will, which has offices in Austin, has also received input from the San Juan Neighborhood Association, which represents the residents living within the 440-acre site.
By Garry Boulard
