(C) El Paso Matters.org
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City manager to seek funding for El Paso Downtown deck park [1]
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Date: 2025-02-04
The City Council on Monday directed the city manager to produce a report identifying plausible funding sources for the Downtown deck plaza – including public funds outside of taxpayer dollars.
It’s the next step in an attempt to create an amenity-filled deck plaza that would span five blocks and cover the sunken stretch of Interstate 10 in Downtown.
After the city and its partners – including El Paso County, the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Paso del Norte Foundation – didn’t win federal grants that could have provided millions for the project, city staffers will now look for money outside the city’s general fund. Primarily funded by property and sales tax dollars, the general fund covers operating costs for basic services for residents, including public safety, streets and maintenance, and parks and recreation.
The deck plaza is estimated to cost at least $207 million to build.
El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson
“I’m very glad to hear that we are looking for additional funding sources,” Mayor Renard Johnson said Monday. “What a great opportunity this would be for El Paso and the community, and for the kids and the grandkids that will be able to use the open space in the park.”
A pot of money that the city received from El Paso Electric – called the Texas Economic Development Fund – has emerged as one potential source of funds that could pay for deck-plaza related expenses such as detailed construction blueprints.
El Paso Electric committed to provide the city with $80 million to spur economic development in exchange for city officials supporting the acquisition of the utility in 2020 by a J.P. Morgan-owned investment fund.
Other than providing an $8 million development loan to an amphitheater project in Northeast El Paso, it’s unclear for what purposes the city has used that pot of money.
Tracy Yellen of the Paso del Norte Community Foundation discusses the deck plaza proposal at a community meeting, July 30, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
However, some portion of the money is still available for the city to allocate to new projects, said Tracy Yellen, CEO of the Paso del Norte Community Foundation, who has championed the deck plaza idea.
When District 3 city Rep. Deanna Maldonado-Rocha asked about the development fund, city staffers shared few details but said they would explore using that money to advance the deck plaza.
One staffer apparently suggested the city is limited in how it can use the money.
“The concept of the (Texas Economic Development Fund) was that it be for the entirety of the city, and not just for a specific locality,” said Ian Voglewede, the city’s director of legislative and strategic affairs.
City Manager Dionne Mack will return to council in two months to share findings about potential ways to pay for the deck plaza.
LEARN MORE: A deck park in Downtown El Paso could cost hundreds of millions. Who will pay for it?
The deck plaza will intersect with the Texas Department of Transportation’s project to conduct a major renovation of I-10 in Downtown, which will include widening that segment of the freeway. The deck plaza’s supporters want to build it at the same time as TxDOT’s highway project, and create more public green space to cover the trench with fast-moving cars that exists today on the northern edge of Downtown.
A design of the deck park from an aerial view, with Sante Fe Street on the left end and Kansas Street on the right end. (Illustration courtesy of the Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation)
Last fall, the state commission that governs TxDOT approved $500 million for the Downtown I-10 reconstruction – the next phase in the major renovation of I-10 in El Paso that’s been ongoing in recent years. TxDOT has determined it must update and widen that stretch of freeway to handle increased traffic that the agency’s computer models predict will become much worse in the decades ahead.
TxDOT is conducting an environmental study of the highway modernization for the Downtown segment, which will be presented to the public along with the agency’s preferred design option this summer, according to the agency. The highway widening will likely require TxDOT to buy and demolish properties along the freeway, such as on Yandell Drive.
The key now for the deck plaza’s supporters is to secure around $10 million to pay for construction designs before TxDOT begins soliciting construction bids likely in 2026.
It’s easier to build a deck plaza at the same time as the highway project, and would also limit the impact of construction on drivers. TxDOT has said it will build the retaining walls and pillars that will bear the weight of the deck atop the highway, which could cost between $90 million and $100 million.
Tracy Yellen, center, of the Paso del Norte Community Foundation, discusses the downtown deck plaza proposal during a community meeting, July 30, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux / El Paso Matters)
In order for TxDOT to make that investment, the city and other local entities have to show they have a firm plan and organized effort in place to build the deck plaza.
“We really need to be able to show TxDOT that we’re moving forward with design and we’re continuing to pursue this project in a serious way,” Joaquin Rodriguez, the city’s director of grant funded programs, told the City Council. “Within the next six months, it’s really critical that we identify funding for design and develop a formal agreement with TxDOT.”
Johnson and most of the representatives on City Council were supportive of the deck plaza and its potential to improve Downtown during Monday’s meeting. However, District 7 Rep. Lily Limón – along with District 8 Rep. Chris Canales – argued the city shouldn’t pursue developing the project if it will require using local taxpayer dollars.
“Having just stepped off the campaign trail, this was a hot topic with our constituents really stating ‘enough is enough’ with the burden that we presently have here in our community,” said Limón, who was elected to a second, non-consecutive term in November.
“If someone else is paying for this project, go ahead,” she said. “But if the city, if we’re going to be paying … my vote is going to be a resounding ‘No.’ I’m not for it. We cannot put this on the back of taxpayers.”
Similar urban parks and deck-style projects in other cities usually rely heavily on private philanthropic donations, federal dollars and also local city funds to get built.
Federal grant opportunities may be less available during President Donald Trump’s administration compared with the previous administration under President Joe Biden, said Omar Martinez, grants and strategic initiatives manager with the city. Trump last week sought to freeze billions of dollars in federal grants before rescinding his executive order on the measure.
“We have a brand new funding landscape at the federal level, at the state level,” he said. “Whereas previously it was feasible for us to submit competitive grant applications, it might be a little bit different in the next four years.”
In the presentation to council, the city highlighted as models three similar park projects: Klyde Warren Park and Halperin Park in Dallas and Discovery Green Park in Houston. Private philanthropists covered about half of the construction cost of each project, according to city documents.
“A lot of these other park efforts have been heavily funded by private contributions and philanthropy,” Rodriguez said. “If we look at Klyde Warren, we also see that there is a large influx of state and federal dollars there as well.”
City staffers said they would try to work with other local governments such as El Paso County and connect with local philanthropists to figure out the funding puzzle in the coming weeks.
“I don’t disagree with Representative Limón that we need to know the numbers before we build something like this,” Johnson said. “There’s a significant push from TxDOT because they’re moving, and we have to decide which way we’re going to go as a community.”
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[1] Url:
http://elpasomatters.org/2025/02/04/el-paso-downtown-deck-park-el-paso-electric-economic-development-fund/
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