Asarco Demolition Progressing Quickly; Stacks Come Down April 13

Aerial photos released by the Asarco property trustee show that significant progress has been made in the process of demolishing the property near UTEP. Slides presented at a February 26, 2013 community meeting by Project Navigator, Ltd., show that the majority of structures are gone and slag has been largely removed from an arroyo on the site.

The trustee has also announced that the two looming Asarco stacks will be knocked down on April 13, 2013, after sunrise. Both the 828' and 612' chimney columns will come down at the same time in an event involving pushing the stacks onto their sides like falling trees. Explosives will create a hole on one side of the base of each stack, like an ax creating a hole on one side of a tree, helping direct the columns into planned fall zones. Earthen berms and elevated mist systems will help reduce the spread of potentially harmful dust.

Interstate 10, which runs along the eastern edge of the primary site, will be closed 15 minutes before the blast and tentatively reopen as soon as 15 minutes afterward. Paisano Drive on the western edge will be closed to traffic three hours prior to demolition and could reopen one hour after the stacks fall. There will be no public viewing areas for the event, but local broadcasters are expected to carry it live on television.

The smokestack fall zones are surrounded by berms, highlighted in green.

Another important element to remediation of the site is the rehabilitation of the Parker Brothers Arroyo. The culvert directs much water underground as well as bringing water to the Rio Grande River from higher ground to the east. The project is minimizing groundwater absorption and replacing contaminated slag with soil.

Parker Brothers Arroyo.

All remediation projects on the Asarco site should be completed by 2015 at which time the property can be put up for bid. The Project Navigator team on the Asarco project is headed by Site Custodial Trustee Roberto Puga.

Previously:
Asarco Smokestack Demolition Plan Moves Forward

Asarco Project website: http://www.recastingthesmelter.com/

Asarco Smokestack Demolition Plan Moves Forward

The trustee for the Asarco property stated last week that the demolition of the controversial smokestacks will move forward. Roberto Puga expressed his commendation to the Save the Stacks grassroots group for their efforts in preserving the iconic columns, but made clear that the deadline for the group to present a viable preservation plan had passed with no plan received by the trust. Mr. Puga made his statements in a press release at the Asarco trust website.

In November 2011, the trustee opted to give the Save the Stacks group 12 months to come up with a way to preserve the smokestacks, including finding a way to finance the endeavor. Late last month, the group attempted to have El Paso City Council designate the stacks as city monuments, which would have required the City to fund their upkeep. The City, however, decided to support the group's efforts in name only, not financially.

Trust's concept land use plan for the Asarco West property.

Mr. Puga has argued that keeping the stacks would make it exceedingly difficult to market the property to potential buyers. Presentations to city groups have shown examples of prosperity on former Asarco land in other parts of the country, specifically at locales where smokestacks were torn down.

Former Asarco site in Omaha, Nebraska.

Now, demolition is imminent, and planning will continue to ensure the stacks are destroyed next year. The trust's plans include a concept of a memorial plaza at the site of the largest smokestack. The lower twenty to thirty feet of the stack would be preserved and surrounded by a fountain. Another concept shows a roundabout surrounding the stack's footprint.

Street-level view of a potential memorial where the largest stack now stands.

Related: Asarco Ready for Development in 2015, Stacks or No Stacks

Asarco Trustee website: http://www.recastingthesmelter.com/

The Essential Posts: February 2012

Our blog came to life back in February of 2012, and there have been over 100 posts so far! Here are some of the posts we believe are definitely worth reading (again) and a few you may have missed, listed here for easy access.

This first part includes stories from February of 2012, the very beginning. Every week, we'll highlight months from earlier in the year, just in case our readers may have missed some interesting stories.


UTEP Hires Firm to Improve Campus Design
According to UTEP's press release, the areas involved are: Memorial Triangle, Leech Grove, Circle Drive (between Old Main and the Psychology Building), the arroyo, the courtyard behind the Physical Sciences Building, and Miner Alley (the walkway between the Sun Bowl Parking Garage and the Fox Fine Arts Building, Miners Hall, Worrell Hall and Hudspeth Hall).

'The Mix' Adds Downtown Housing
A new "upscale, urban" mixed use development has added 14 modern apartment units to Downtown's Union Plaza District. Octavio Gomez, founder/owner of Union Plaza hot spots such as 1914 Lounge, Brick and Mortar, and The Garden, has renovated a century-old building at 518 W. San Antonio Avenue and is calling it The Mix.

Northpark Transit Project May Receive $15.2 Million
The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, has recommended that $15.2 Million be included in the federal budget to support the City's Rapid Transit System's (RTS) Northeast corridor. This would include designing the transit-oriented development at the old Northpark Mall location, which is currently being demolished.

City Eyeing Old Saddleblanket For Artspace Project
The goal is to create a "high density mixed-use, arts-oriented affordable rental housing development on the Property containing studio/work and gallery spaces," according to the ordinance. The City entered into an agreement with the EPCF and Artspace in 2010 to produce a project of this type.

El Cruzero to Transform Far East El Paso Desert
A new 228 acre mixed use development is slated for far east El Paso which will incorporate new Smart Code rules. El Cruzero Town Center will be built at the northeast corner of Montana Ave and Joe Battle (Loop 375), and will be comprised of two mixed-use areas, a Regional Center Development and a Traditional Neighborhood Development.


Asarco Ready for Development in 2015, Stacks or No Stacks
Roberto Puga, the trustee appointed to oversee the remediation of the Asarco site, stated this week that he would like one master developer to purchase all 350 acres, which span both sides of I-10, and that the site would be ready for sale in 2015, a short three years away. A new change in the plan includes topping the site with five feet of clean soil and not the asphalt surface that was in the original plan.

Asarco Ready for Development in 2015, Stacks or No Stacks

Roberto Puga, the trustee appointed to oversee the remediation of the Asarco site, stated this week that those interested in saving the smokestacks at Asarco have nine months left to come up with the plan and $14 Million needed to insure and retrofit the historic icons/blights. Puga delayed the demolition of the stacks for one year in order to accommodate the group seeking to save the stacks.

In an El Paso Inc. story, Puga also said that he would like one master developer to purchase all 350 acres, which span both sides of I-10, and that the site would be ready for sale in 2015, a short three years away. A new change in the plan includes topping the site with five feet of clean soil and not the asphalt surface that was in the original plan.

Puga also reinforced that the City has a large say as to the use and design of the land, regardless of who ultimately purchases it. This includes Smart Code zoning and transportation design that can be overlaid on the property prior to sale. Some Smart Code applications have already been approved. The City, with the help of design firm Dover Kohl, envisions a mixed-use development that could include an impact project, such as an arena or amusement park to anchor the property.

Original El Paso Inc. article: http://www.elpasoinc.com/news/local_news/article_53ddb49e-5bec-11e1-8385-0019bb30f31a.html
Asarco Trustee Site: http://www.recastingthesmelter.com/
Plan El Paso Site: http://planelpaso.org/