El Paso Construction Booming (2007 thread) (San Antonio, Fort Bliss: low income, for sale, real estate market)

[Six Foot Three]

A good article in todays El Paso Times business section about all the construction going on thru-out the city. New school construction all over the city, the Factory Shoppes outlet on the west side (70 million dollars), the new Sierra Providence east side hospital (130 million dollars), new Medical school in central EP, the new Federal Courthouse in downtown, new interstate construction at I-10 and UTEP, downtown revitalization construction and the 2.6 Billion dollar Ft.Bliss expansion going on till 2011.

Yes EP has its problems and higher unemployment than most cities but its good to see changes going on in my home town......

[eplifestyle]

A good article in todays El Paso Times business section about all the construction going on thru-out the city. New school construction all over the city, the Factory Shoppes outlet on the west side (70 million dollars), the new Sierra Providence east side hospital (130 million dollars), new Medical school in central EP, the new Federal Courthouse in downtown, new interstate construction at I-10 and UTEP, downtown revitalization construction and the 2.6 Billion dollar Ft.Bliss expansion going on till 2011.

Yes EP has its problems and higher unemployment than most cities but its good to see changes going on in my home town......

The interesting thing is that while commercial construction is booming, residential construction is slowing down. Requests for residential building permits were down in 2006, but not for lack of demand. Home builders are actually running out of land. This is great news for anyone who owns a residential property in EP (especially around Ft. Bliss).

Imagine a future where Chaparral, NM is the next hot real estate market. Sounds silly? You never know...

-eplifestyle

[Six Foot Three]

Originally Posted by eplifestyle

Imagine a future where Chaparral, NM is the next hot real estate market. Sounds silly? You never know...

Actually their brand new 40 million dollar State of the Art High School is set to open this fall. Thankyou New Mexico Governor Richarson. Its good to see the Gov Put alot of money into these southern communities that surround El Paso.....

[Muhnay]

Ahh yes.. New Mexico. not El Paso. eplifestyle, I respect your love of El Paso, but dont let it cloud your judgement of how it really is. Dont get me wrong, El Paso will always be my home, I will always miss stuff about this city. But El Paso is not improving. Changing I will agree too, but not improving.

[eplifestyle]

Ahh yes.. New Mexico. not El Paso. eplifestyle, I respect your love of El Paso, but dont let it cloud your judgement of how it really is. Dont get me wrong, El Paso will always be my home, I will always miss stuff about this city. But El Paso is not improving. Changing I will agree too, but not improving.

Greetings...

True--Chaparral is technically in New Mexico, but I consider it a future suburb of El Paso. It wouldn't have the potential for growth without the "spillover" from Northeast EP. It is certainly more closely tied with El Paso than with anywhere in NM.

And, of course, it's is easy to disagree when there is more than one way to measure "improvement".

Some locals complain about rising property taxes, but this rise is mostly due to a bull market in real estate (an "improvement" by my definition).

El Paso does need a better job market, but if you take a rising income per capita as a measure (I don't, BTW) then El Paso is "improving".

I'm not a starry-eyed optimist, either. I know El Paso has its issues--quite a few--to deal with. But I do think that the expansion of Fort Bliss and its "trickle down" effect bode quite well for the area. I think that a viable plan to renovate dowtown (with using eminent domain) will help alot.

Roughly twenty years ago, San Antonio gave itself a makeover. Not just cosmetically, but also with regard to infrastructure. It worked. Creating more service industry jobs through an emphasis on tourism became the basis for a sizable economic expansion that included many other industries. Nowadays, a job as a server or bartender on the Riverwalk can bring in $30k-$40k a year. Not bad for a "low wage" worker. And San Antonio has weathered (quite well) the short end of the stick when it came to base closures.

I know...El Paso isn't there yet. We have a long way to go. But there are a lot of talented, hard-working people here. If we can give them a reason to stay and come up with a plan that doesn't involve solely relying on the expansion of Ft. Bliss, the potential for this town is huge. Just ask anyone who has built or sold a house in the last two years.

Cheers,
-eplifestyle

[Muhnay]

Ok, So technically, New Mexico benefits, not El Paso. Chaparral is a Suburb of El Paso now.. a Trailer Trash sub of El Paso. I used to live out there for a few years so I know. We wont be growing out that way.. N.E. is gone as far as it can that way. The Electric Company, the Ranch and Fort Bliss own the land between us and N.M. so we wont be building out that way and butting upto N.M. on the North East side of town.

LOW Income, Higher taxes, means less money in an El Pasoens pocket.. look at the many, many For Sale signs in El Paso, these houses have been up for sale for a year or more, most of them... people are not buying. Military may, but sell again as soon as they are transferred out.

I posted a report from the BRAC REPORT debunking the increase in jobs due to the soldiers moving in or the "FORT BLISS EXPANSION". It shows we will loose jobs and it will have a negitive impact on El paso Job related. There are no living wage jobs here now.. and now more will be lost.

Ah yes we have a long way to go, but can El Paso weather the cost?

[eplifestyle]

Originally Posted by Muhnay

Ok, So technically, New Mexico benefits, not El Paso.

El Paso does not exist in a bubble.

The Electric Company, the Ranch and Fort Bliss own the land between us and N.M. so we wont be building out that way and butting upto N.M. on the North East side of town.

There are negotiations taking place to open up some of that land for development.

look at the many, many For Sale signs in El Paso, these houses have been up for sale for a year or more, most of them... people are not buying.

This is what we call a "subjective" measure. That is, an assertion based on an impression, not on the facts. For and an objective measure (based on facts) we can go to cnnmoney.com or http://recenter.tamu.edu/ both of which reflect a very strong real estate market.

I posted a report from the BRAC REPORT debunking the increase in jobs due to the soldiers moving in or the "FORT BLISS EXPANSION". It shows we will loose jobs and it will have a negitive impact on El paso Job related. There are no living wage jobs here now.. and now more will be lost.

You posted a few sentences of a very long report that was based on recommendations. Your post only includes information on losses, but doesn't discuss gains. I have listed a source debunking this falsehood in the appropriate thread.

-eplifestyle

[Six Foot Three]

Was reading the El Paso Times online a couple of days back about 3 new shopping centers under construction on the east side. I believe at Joe Battle and Zaragosa and Joe Battle and Montwood on each side of I-375.

[Muhnay]

There is a new one on Dyer and McCombs too. They remain empty. As most due.

[Six Foot Three]

Originally Posted by Muhnay

There is a new one on Dyer and McCombs too. They remain empty. As most due.

My first thought was WOW ...Dyer and McCombs how cool is that as that's right by my old Stomping grounds but thats sad if they are empty. I always thought those ''Strip Shopping Centers'' over on the Patriot Freeway and Kenworthy were good for NorthEast but seemed to stop there at that corner.Too bad not a new Mega Mall on the Patriot Freeway and McCombs area on the northside area.