San Jacinto Plaza delays affecting events
Construction delays continue to plague the signature San Jacinto Plaza renovation project in downtown El Paso.
So what are the hold-ups, and what is being done for events scheduled around the plaza?
Anyone passing by can see that San Jacinto Plaza still has a way to go, with workers spread over most of the siteTuesday. The city has said it’s 80 percent done, but still doesn’t have a completion date yet.
It was supposed to be done last November, later pushed back to March. But still in April, construction drags on. But it’s not just about the hassle and delays.
Now, events scheduled in and around the plaza, like the Mariachi Loco Music Festival for Mother’s Day weekend, are having to make changes. The mariachi festival can still go on, but the plaza will remain blocked off for the foreseeable future.
The upcoming festival won’t be able to use the plaza, and will be restricted to the nearby streets on three sides: Main Street, Oregon Street and Mills Avenue. There is still some work to do at the intersection of Oregon and Mills, but project engineers said that will be completed in time.
Otherwise, the city and the event organizer say everything will still go off mostly as planed. Organizer Ruben Holguin said in a statement sent to ABC-7 “Our event has always been a Mariachi Festival celebrating Mother’s Day weekend. We would have liked for the park to have been ready but unfortunately we have no control over that. As for the venue no changes are needed since the footprint and entertainment has always been on the streets surrounding San Jacinto. If anything we thank city officials for assisting us with making this event possible. This festival is by El Pasoans for El Pasoans so keep Calm and Mariachi ON.”
A lot of work still being done and still needing to be done at San Jacinto Plaza. But the city said they’re working with the event organizer and destination el paso to try and make the upcoming nearest event a successful one.
“When we first met to discuss the possibility of having this event in the heart of our downtown, when we thought it would be ready myMarch 1,” said Cortney Niland, city rep. for district 8. “At that particular time, I said absolutely it would be great. But he always knew, the event organizer always knew there would be this level of risk associated with, but it was a risk he was comfortable with.”
City engineers said the biggest holdup in finishing the project is central to the overall plaza renovation.
“Probably the biggest component is the canopy that is being installed to protect the reinstallation of the “Los Lagartos” sculpture that is going back into the plaza,” said city engineer Irene Ramirez. “This is a critical component of the project.”
A 45-ton awning that will cover the fiberglass alligator statue and a good portion of the plaza once done.
The city says it’s keeping the contractor accountable, but people working and visiting downtown said it’s been a hassle and more.
“Its been busy,” said one man who works nearby. “Seems like they still have a long way to go, and I know theyre supposed to be done soon, right?
Even with no offical end date, the clock is still ticking for this project. Other major events like the Neon Desert Music Festival at the end of May are coming soon. Officials ABC-7 spoke with didn’t know if specific plans were in place for that, but Niland said that they’ll deal with the issues coming from further delays as necessary.
