Business Tenants Told To Vacate Discount Mall

EL PASO, TX — Business owners who operate at the Discount Mall on Dyer have been told they will have to move out of the building by the end of October. The mall will be demolished next month and a large apartment complex will be built on the land, ABC 7 has learned.

The construction is specifically designed to benefit military personnel who will relocate with their families to Fort Bliss. As many as 20,000 troops are slated to arrive by 2010, as a result of the Pentagon’s base realignment plans. The new property, Independence Place, will rent units at one price and with all utilities included.

The new complex is scheduled to be completed during the winter.

Entrepreneurs affected by the change have told ABC 7 say they’re having to face the challenges of relocating, but many say they want to stay close to the area to take advantage of the business opportunities that will coincide with the troops’ arrival.

Place Properties, the company building the complex, operates similar housing at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, Fort Benning in Central Georgia and Fort Sill, near Lawton, Oklahoma.

By Kevin Pytcher, ABC 7,with informationby reporter Darren Hunt