EL PASO, Texas (KTEP) - The future of the city of El Paso’s proposed multipurpose performing arts and entertainment center remains uncertain after the City Council suspended a vote to decide on a new location for the project.
A council decision to suspend the vote for four weeks brought a pause to the idea of building the center near Downtown’s Union Depot. The site is blocks away from the Duranguito neighborhood, where community organizers adamantly opposed the project from being built.
“The community has a lot of concerns,” District 5 city representative Isabel Salcido said. “They don’t feel like they’re part of the process is really what I’ve gathered.”
The multipurpose center is one of three signature projects funded by the 2012 Quality of Life bond initiative approved by voters. The bond brought the project $180 million.
It was meant to complement the now under construction Mexican American Cultural Center and Children’s Museum.
At the time, city leaders contemplated the facility would be a large venue big enough to house 15,000 seats and host college basketball games, concerts and traveling acts. But the project’s rollout has been met with challenges over the years over the bond’s language and site selection.
And, comments made during Tuesday’s meeting suggest Mayor Oscar Leeser and some city representatives may not support surpassing what the bond allocated for the multipurpose center.
Leeser also questioned if the proposal was budgeted adequately.
“You look at a wishlist of 14,000 seat capacity but yet, we’re not realistic with a $180 million budget,” Leeser said. “I think the taxpayers overwhelmingly approved an MPC, which is a performing arts center.”
District 3 city representative Cassandra Hernandez supported suspending the vote to allow public feedback on the new location. She also asked city staff to bring back an economic impact analysis on the proposed new location for the project.
“I think we have learned from past experiences that when the public is not included, then this project becomes mired in controversy,” Hernandez said. “I think it’s incredibly important to include the public.”
The city plans on holding public meetings for residents to weigh in on the new proposed site for the multipurpose center but dates and times are not available yet.
For now, the city is proposing a hybrid facility that would have 4,000 indoor and 4,000 outdoor seats. And, planners say the idea could be done within the quality of life bond’s budget.
Daniela Quesada, the city of El Paso’s architect, said there is $162 million left from the bond to spend on the project. She said it would cost $115 million to construct the hybrid facility as proposed or $183 million to build one with 6,500 indoor seats and 1,500 outside.
“This is what the city can afford based on the last market assessment feasibility study that was done,” Quesada said.
Quesada’s presentation to the City Council, suggested there is a market for a facility that could hold 8,000 to 12,000 seats but greater investments would require help from an outside organization. She said the city would have to develop a public-private-partnership and hire consultants to build a facility comparable to the original idea for the multipurpose center.
“The P3 agreement does open up an opportunity for a private partner to enter into some kind of agreement with the city where they could potentially add to the project fund,” she said.
Former city manager Joyce Wilson, who oversaw the 2012 Quality of Life bond’s drafting, said the idea for the center was to bring major attractions that could fill Downtown hotels, in a letter published by El Paso Matters.
“These were major high risk investments that relied on city leadership to deliver its part of the deal,” she wrote.
Wilson also wrote having a center with less than 14,000 seats would be “like flushing money down the toilet.”
Last year, the city hired Gensler and Associates Inc. to do a feasibility study on the project. The firm looked at 13 different locations including near the Don Haskins Center, the intersection of Cotton and Texas Avenue, behind City Hall and other spots in Downtown.
Quesada said the Union Depot site would provide good walkability, amenities, and parking. What also made it an attractive location was already belonging to the city of El Paso, meaning private acquisition of properties would not need to be done.
The depot would also not be demolished under the city’s plan.
“The Union Depot is one of our architectural gems,” she said. “We would never even think of touching it.”
She said an environmental assessment found the land would require remediation from gas contamination and petroleum storage tanks, if the center is built near the Union Depot. The estimated cost would be between $600,000 to $2.7 million, depending on the size of the multipurpose center.
Contracts with Amtrak and Texas Tech University are also expected to continue, Quesada added.
“We would not be interrupting the actual Union Depot building,” she said.
