City of El Paso approves sale of land in West El Paso for development

Update: City Council approved the sale of the land Tuesday.

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The City of El Paso will decide Tuesday, July 16, if it will sell a 43-acre parcel to VTRE Development, LLC, for more than $18.7 million. A decision that has caused River Oaks Properties, one of the largest developers of shopping centers in El Paso and owners of West Towne Marketplace, to ask City Council to reconsider their decision and postpone the sale of land.

This land owned by the City is located in Northwest El Paso at the southwestern intersection of I-10 and Paso Del Norte, across from the West Towne Marketplace. In addition to the purchase price of $18.7 million, VTRE would also pay $600,000 for traffic signal construction if the deal is agreed upon.

River Oaks Properties wrote a letter to Mayor Oscar Leeser and City Council members asking them to postpone the sale of land since they believe the sale to VTRE will bring a warehouse like Amazon to an area with high traffic congestion. Something they say would only increase if 18-wheeler tractor-trailer trucks came in and out of a warehouse.

While no warehouse or Amazon has been mentioned in the City's proposed contract of sale, our partners at El Paso Inc. reported that VTRE has "managed multiple land development and construction projects for Amazon in recent years."

Adam Frank, with River Oaks Properties, told ABC-7 that they believe there can be better uses for citizens of El Paso on that land. Frank says they had submitted a proposal to the City along with a contract and a site plan. River Oaks Properties had proposed a large retail development with multi-family housing. Frank added that the bid they made was higher than the current price land will be sold for, but the City told them that the land was not for sale.

ABC-7 reached out to the City to confirm if River Oaks Properties had made a proposal and if the bid was indeed higher than the current price it is expected to be sold to VTRE. We are awaiting confirmation on this.

Frank noted he did not oppose warehouses coming into the city, but he doesn't believe the location of this City owned land is ideal, as it is also not attractive for other businesses in the area due to the traffic this would create.

“They should request proposals from developers like ourselves to submit what would be best for the city at this location," said Frank.