Smart Code, Master Plan Coming to Airport Land

An industrial area southwest of the El Paso International Airport and commercial areas along Montana Avenue could soon be rezoned to Smart Code, according to an zoning application on the City Plan Commission agenda. The Southern Industrial Park Master Plan envisions pedestrian friendly streets with retailers and restaurants lining the sidewalks, architecturally interesting courtyard hotels with hidden parking, and a 450,000 square foot business conference center, all in a 300+ acre area owned by the airport.

View looking northwest over High Street. A courtyard hotel is in the foreground.

The plan, developed by Placemakers LLC, focuses on two "pedestrian sheds" that lie to the south of the main international airport. The first area is bounded by Airway Boulevard to the east and north, Airport Boulevard to the west, and Montana Avenue to the south. This area would see the densest development.

Full build-out shown on the right.

The main north-south arterial is referred to as High Street in the plan, and would require storefronts along most of the roadway. Retail stores, restaurants, hotels, and office buildings would line the route, which would stretch from Montana Avenue, north past Airway Boulevard, and all the way to a new rental car parking garage that would be adjacent to the main airport terminal. High Street would in no way be a straight shot and instead take a meandering route through the master planned area.

Required High Street storefronts are lined in red.

A business conference center could also be located in this area with between 215,000 and 450,000 square feet dedicated to this use. The conceptual plan shows the location of the center along the Airway Boulevard curve. 

Business Center Options

Concept plans for hotels located in the plan area would require a "courtyard" design, with the building facades lining the streets. Hotel occupants would have immediate access to High Street activities, including restaurants, shopping, and entertainment.

Towers could help draw visitors travelling along Montana Ave.

The second, less dense area consists of parcels between Montana Avenue and Boeing Drive, from Airway Boulevard to Hawkins Boulevard. Commercial and industrial uses would be maintained, but buildings would be re-oriented to line the sidewalk along Lockheed Drive, which runs immediately parallel to Montana Avenue. 

Buildings along Montana Avenue, east of Airway.

The entire project would be built in phases, mostly to accommodate the expiration of current leases the airport has with tenants already occupying the area. Some vacant parcels are ready for development, while the leases on others expire anywhere between one and 16 years from 2012. 

A phasing concept for the more dense area of the plan.

The City Plan Commission will vote on the rezoning application at its September 20, 2012 meeting. If approved, it will go to City Council for a final vote. Due to Federal Aviation Administration regulations, residential uses are not allowed on airport land.

City Plan Commission agenda: http://www.elpasotexas.gov/econdev/preview_mtng.asp?meetingid=1739

City Purchases Downtown Parking Structure

City Council voted today to approve the purchase of a 157-space downtown parking garage near the Convention Center. The City agreed to pay $1.4 Million for the structure, noting the importance of its location near the downtown cultural districts, Union Plaza, the Golden Horseshoe shopping district, the Plaza Theater, and the convention area. The parking structure is located at 120 W. San Antonio Ave., at the corner of Santa Fe Street.

The purchase is a strategic move for the City. It immediately provides additional parking spaces for convention area events, and it also gives the city prime real estate for future development projects. In the Downtown 2015 plan, the area was designated an ideal location for additional hotel space.

City Council Agenda item (PDF): http://www.elpasotexas.gov/muni_clerk/agenda/06-19-12/06191210.pdf

City Disappointed with Camino Real Response

City Manager Joyce Wilson was disappointed with the Camino Real owners' response to the idea of selling the historic hotel to a group of local investors. Rosalinda Gonzalez, the general manager of Camino Real Hotels, had previously said that the company had no interest in selling nor participating in downtown revitalization efforts. Furthermore, Gonzalez stated that the hotel is run using their own rules and not any others.

According to a story in this week's El Paso Inc., Wilson responded with, "I find it unlikely that any business entity, regardless of location, would not want to share in the benefit of a wholesale revitalization effort which only improves their economic viability and opportunities for the future."

Mayor John Cook added that he would be content if they indeed ran the Camino Real in El Paso the same way they ran other hotels in the chain. "If they would operate the hotel like they operate the Camino Real chain in Mexico, that would be fine. In Mexico, they take really good care of their hotels. The one in El Paso is very much neglected, even though we have offered them incentives to make improvements."

Indeed, Camino Real hotels in other locations are considered upscale and high-end offerings. The hotel in El Paso, however, can no longer be considered that way.

Originally the Hotel Paso del Norte, the hotel is the most historic still-standing hotel in El Paso.

Original Hotel Towers

Original El Paso Inc. article: http://www.elpasoinc.com/news/top_story/article_0a1221e8-5beb-11e1-b378-0019bb30f31a.html

El Paso Nearing 10,000 'Quality' Hotel Rooms

Convention and Visitors Bureau general manager Bill Blaziek indicated to KVIA Channel 7 that the number of "quality" hotel rooms in El Paso is "quickly reaching about 10,000," which could help the city land more and larger conventions.

A new hotel has opened its doors near the now booming Airway/Gateway East intersection, and two more hotels are planned within just a mile of the area according to Adrian Perez, the general manager for the new Hilton Garden Inn.

Despite consistent worry from hotel owners and the Hotel/Motel Association about over-supply due to new hotels, occupancy levels continue to be high in El Paso. Many have worried that high occupancy in recent years has been due to Fort Bliss expansion, and that occupancy would plummet once expansion slowed. But an improving economy and a rebounding maquiladora industry in Juarez could help keep occupancy at current levels.

Original KVIA story: http://www.kvia.com/news/30478851/detail.html

Camino Real Owners Not Selling

El Paso Inc. reports this week that the Mexican company that owns El Paso's historic Camino Real hotel is not interested in selling the hotel to a group of local investors. A general manager for Camino Real Hotels indicated that the company wants no part of the current downtown redevelopment efforts, and that the hotel is maintained under their rules, "which are Mexican rules for a Mexican company."

Camino Real Hotels purchased the hotel in 2000. Since that time, very little investment has been made into upgrading the hotel to the current standards for an upscale convention hotel. Hotel guests have encountered a broken air conditioning system in the peak of summer, non-functioning hotel phones, out-dated bathrooms, and old tube televisions.

The Convention and Vistors Bureau has stopped recommending the hotel to visitors after special guests had to be moved to the nearby Doubletree during last year's Plaza Classic Film Festival because air conditioners at the Camino Real broke down. Though the Doubletree is much newer and more reliable, it does not have the meeting space necessary to be considered a convention hotel.

Camino Real Hotel Manager Ren� Rubio indicated that the hotel's occupancy last year averaged only 35%.

Full Story: http://www.elpasoinc.com/news/local_news/article_bdf626fa-5669-11e1-9156-001a4bcf6878.html