Commissioners Deny Funding For Farah Redevelopment
EL PASO COUNTY, Texas — County commissioners said ‘no’ Monday to the redevelopment project of the old Farah building in East El Paso.
At their Monday meeting, commissioners voted against granting developers an additional four million dollars they needed to go forward with the project.
The vote at Monday’s Commissioners’ Court meeting was 3-1, with Anthony Cobos, Miguel Teran and Luis Sarinana voting ‘yes’ to deny the funding, and Veronica Escobar voting ‘no’ to the denial. Dan Haggerty was not present.
County Judge Cobos said, “The economy is so erratic right now I don’t think they will come, ‘them’ being the shoppers.”
Developers with the Regency Foster Group were already granted eight million dollars by the El Paso City Council. They were hoping to get the rest of the money they needed from the county.
Now the project is at a dead end, and those who proposed the initial plan say they are stunned by the county’s decision not to front the other four million dolloars they needed.
“We’re confused and disappointed. We spent a lot of time with the county commissioners only to find out we’ve come to get it denied,” Regency Foster CEO West Miller said.
Developers can wait until January to take the issue up again with the newly elected commissioners that would be in office by then, or go back to the drawing board with the county and devise a plan that will pass another vote.
