Revitalizing the central downtown area

Central Downtown El Paso Area-Wide Planning & Revitalization

After decades of economic decline and a population shift away from its urban core, downtown El Paso is finally experiencing a resurgence of investment. The central downtown area has experienced decades of economic stagnation, yet its historical buildings and vacant properties present tremendous reuse and infill potential to bring housing, employment, and commercial services to the broader community.

Our team worked with El Paso’s Downtown Management District on an area-wide planning process to explore the existing conditions, define a long-term vision, and establish a set of revitalization strategies for the 18-block central downtown area. Our resulting plan establishes short- and long-term enhancement projects and land-use designations that are intended to work holistically to improve aesthetics, function, and market opportunity. The planning efforts also resulted in a series of community revitalization strategies that aim to address various aspects of redevelopment, placement, and community stewardship.

Ultimately, this plan will provide the basis for the El Paso Downtown Management District to seek funding for site-specific redevelopment opportunities through federal Brownsfield Grant opportunities. Site-specific redevelopments such as this project are essential to repositioning Downtown El Paso to take advantage of future growth opportunities in the shifting post-COVID economy.