![]() Some seven years after the City of El Paso announced its intention to build a multi-purpose arena requiring the demolition of a historic neighborhood, efforts may be underway for the building of another large project in the general area. City officials have indicated that they will soon begin a process of soliciting letters of intent to develop 18 properties that exist within the boundaries of the Duranguito neighborhood. Those properties were earlier purchased to make way for the arena project. A protracted legal battle on the part of preservationists and community activists finally led to a vote by the El Paso City Council earlier this year to consider another site for the arena. Now, members of the council have voted to sell those 18 properties, which the City purchased for $13.2 million, with the council also looking at an ordinance allowing for the building of restaurants, bed and breakfasts, and other businesses within the larger Civic Plaza area. While it may be a sticky thing, any new projects involving the eighteen Duranguito properties will not involve the demolition of the whole of Duranguito itself. A scheduled public hearing regarding the ordinance is expected to both make clear the City's intentions, while undoubtedly raising preservationist concerns that somehow Duranguito may be once again endangered. The Duranguito neighborhood is regarded by many as the birthplace of El Paso itself, with one- and two-story buildings dating to the mid-19th century. By Garry Boulard
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