by: Tatiana Favela
Posted: Feb 12, 2020 / 07:00 PM MST / Updated: Feb 12, 2020 / 07:33 PM MST
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The East and Far Eastside of the Sun City continues to grow rapidly, and so do the plans to bring retail development.
As we’ve reported, River Oaks Properties is El Paso’s largest shopping center developer. The President, Adam Frank, told KTSM there are multiple shopping centers that are currently in design and in construction.
“That’s where we see the future is. That’s where the traffic is. That’s where the people live. We think it’s very beneficial for residents, small businesses, in addition to all the tax revenue that the city receives,” Frank said.
“It’s just really great to not just see your national chains expand but it’s also a good nod to our community to see some of our local and regional retail chains that are very much loved by our community expand as well. A lot of those dollars, they really stay within the community,” Jessica Herrera, Director for the City of El Paso’s Economic Development Department shared.
The two largest projects right now include the Eastlake Marketplace which has over 200,000 square feet with retailers, restaurants, and a new Cinemark. The other is the Market at Pebble Hills.
Frank said the clock is ticking when it comes to leasing at some of the centers, especially at Eastlake Marketplace, “It’s pre-leasing extremely, extremely fast because of all the growth out there but we do have availability next to Albertson’s, we have availability on Zaragoza, so there’s plenty of opportunities for small tenants and big tenants.”
While the centers are expected to draw in more workforce opportunities, along with sales and property tax revenue, Herrera said the City essentially wants to make El Paso a destination for others.
“We want to give people a reason to get off the interstate and get to know our city. So for a lot of our visitors that are going through on their way to Dallas or are on their way to California, it’s really important that the beautification and the built environment off the interstate is attractive,” Herrera shared.
Just a few other updates: The new Albertson’s in the Market at Pebble Hills is expected to break ground in 30 days. Meanwhile, the Reserve at Rich Beem is expected to be completed during that time as well.
For any business interested in leasing at the new shopping centers, River Oaks Properties requires a minimum of 5 years however hopes for 10 to 15 years.
You can find more information about these new projects here.
Copyright 2020 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.