City moving forward with selling properties in Duranguito area

Dave Burge
·2 min read
1
City moving forward with selling properties in Duranguito area

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The City of El Paso is seeking “requests for interest (RFI)” for the 19 City-owned properties in the Union Plaza District that had been previously designated as a location to build a Downtown arena.

“This RFI marks the first in a two-step process of an eventual sale and redevelopment of the properties in the Union Plaza district bounded by W. Overland Ave. to the north, S. Santa Fe St. to the east, E. Paisano Dr. to the south, and Alley B to the west,” according to a news release sent out by the City.

On Oct. 10, the City Council directed City staff to begin soliciting and entertaining letters of interest from interested buyers for the purchase of the properties.

The RFI step will help the City gather information on the market potential, development opportunities, and innovative ideas which will be used to initiate Step 2 of the process which would be to develop a request for proposal (RFP) or a contract of sale(s), according to the City’s news release.

The previous planned site for the arena in the Duranguito neighborhood near Union Plaza was a source of controversy and contention for nearly a decade. The City Council abandoned plans to build the area in that area back in January 2023.

“The City Council has indicated a strong preference for adaptive reuse of the site, meaning the use of existing structures and updating or adapting them for a purpose other than its original intended use,” according to the news release.

All proposals should incorporate plans for the eventual establishment of a National Historic designation for buildings deemed independently eligible, the City said.

Responses should include a narrative that explains the project concept, proposed uses, and potential improvements.

The City invites expressions of interest from project sponsors “actively exploring specific projects on any of the identified sites,” according to the news release.

Project sponsors may include, but are not limited to:

  • Development, real estate, or design professionals

  • Nonprofit organizations

  • Community organizations

Projects may be at any stage of planning or design and may or may not include architectural plans or other visualizations; however, the description of the project should be detailed enough to understand how a specific project would fit and perform on a specific site.

RFIs must be submitted by Friday, March 29 to UnionPlazaRFI@elpasotexas.gov. Rolling submissions may be accepted after this target date if capacity allows.

The full RFI and associated resource documents can be found at ElPasoTexas.gov/Economic-Development

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