El Paso City Council approves development agreement to revitalize old Northpark site in Northeast
El Paso City Council on Tuesday approved a development agreement with Hunt Metro 31 to revitalize the old Northpark mall site in Northeast El Paso.
When the city drafted plan el paso – basically mapping out the vision for the future of the city – this development was one of the gems. It’s a big, walkable community that’ll have shopping options, dining, offices, apartments and lofts, a park and potentially an urban arroyo. It’ll all be anchored by Sun Metro’s transit center, next to a parking garage so people could park and ride.
“Try to focus on those cores of your city, not just downtown but find those opportunities throughout the city where you can build more densely tied to mass transit so that you can reduce reliance on automobile trips and Northgate is our spot for doing that in a really big way,” Mathew McElroy, the City’s Development Director, told the Council on Tuesday.
In 2011, the City of El Paso spent about $10 million to buy the land and demolish the old mall. Since then, the city has been looking for a developer to revitalize the 31 acres. Three developers responded to the City’s request for proposals in June 2013. The City’s selection committee, which consisted of members from the Development Department, the City Manager’s office, Engineering and an outside consultant in November 2013 chose Hunt Metro 31, a part of Hunt Communities, owned by El Pasoan Woody Hunt.
The total cost is about $112 million, most of it paid by the developer, which will lease the land from the City with the possibility of purchasing it in the future. Council approved waiving about $13.7 million worth of taxes and fees for Hunt Metro 31.
The plan calls for about 450 apartments and 130,000 square feet of retail space.
“It’s going to be a crown jewel for the city of El Paso. I’m proud to say it’s going to be in Northeast el paso but it’s going to be great for the city of El Paso, the city that I love. I don’t know how much I can say about it, it’s just I’m really excited. We went through a lot of pain to get where we are and we’re here today,” said City Rep. Carl Robinson, who represents the Northeast and has worked on the project for about four years.
Hunt Metro officials said it’ll take another six months to finalize the design with the State Plan Commission, after which the developer will begin plotting construction and courting retailers.
The City has used some federal grants on the property, but it’s also used certificates of obligation.
The Public Service Board pitched in $2.5 million to prevent the site from flooding and will implement stormwater management features such as rainwater gardens, permeable paving and roof harvesting.
Hunt Metro 31 officials said construction will create about 1200 new jobs and the developer will now go the County of El paso, where it’ll ask for $5 million in taxes and fees waived.
