January 27, 2008
The property under review at Tuesday's meeting is at the corner of Main and Oregon Streets, adjacent to the Mills Building and across from San Jacinto Plaza. It contains a ticket kiosk and restrooms for Sun Metro commuters.
The 11,057-square-foot property went out to bid and was awarded to Mills Plaza Properties LP, formerly known as Mills Acquisition Company LP, and Mills Plaza Parking LP, the sole bidder. The proposed sale was introduced as an ordinance last Tuesday and is on the agenda this Tuesday for final action.
The proposed purchase price for the corner lot is $451,000. As a down payment, Mills Plaza property has submitted to the city $112,750, which will be credited to the purchase price when the sale is made final.
According to a summary form attached to the item, the “property was identified as a key driver to economic development in the El Paso Downtown area. It is located in the Central Business District and is surrounded by office, museum, theatre, and convention improvements. The city believes that development of a structure that contains parking, retail and office space or a combination thereof, is the highest and best use of the property.”
The form also states the city is planning to relocate the services provided by the Sun Metro ticket kiosk to another “city location.” The relocation has a proposed timeline of approximately one year.
In mid-January, Sun Metro moved its downtown bus hub from San Jacinto Plaza to Franklin, Oregon and Missouri Streets to allow for street repairs and construction around the plaza.
The city has been considering relocating the San Jacinto bus terminal to another Downtown location for some time, said City Financial Services Director Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria.
“It was my understanding that the bus facilities is going to be moving to Union Plaza,” Arrieta-Candelaria said. “That facility (the San Jacinto ticket booth) is no longer going to be used and so [the city] approved to put it out on the market.”
On Wednesday evening, the city hosted a public meeting seeking input on possibly relocating the bus hub to the Union Plaza area. Over 40 people attended the meeting at city hall, including Reps. Eddie Holguin and Beto O’Rourke.
Holguin stated he has not yet formed an opinion on the proposed land sale to Mills Plaza Properties, but he feels that if the land is deemed to be surplus property, then it likely should be sold.
While the proposition to move the buses from San Jacinto Plaza has been ongoing in City Hall for months, and with Sun Metro moving its downtown bus hub from San Jacinto Plaza to Franklin, Oregon and Missouri Streets to allow for street repairs around the plaza, the meeting seeking public input on the possible relocation would seem to be after-the-fact if the bus terminal relocation already has been decided by the city, but Holguin and O'Rourke said they do not feel that is the case.
“I’m assuming the city no longer has a use for it,” Holguin said of the land the bus ticket kiosk. “I can’t give you a definite answer on whether I think we should sell it,” he added. “I don’t frequent Downtown enough to give you an honest answer, but what I can tell you is the times that I do go Downtown, I never see that kiosk open.”
O’Rourke said he is not opposed to the selling of the land as he feels the ticket office can be moved to another location in the area if the buses stay around the Plaza.
“Conceptually, I like the idea of moving the bus terminal away from San Jacinto Plaza,” he said.
After attending Wednesday’s meeting, however, O’Rourke said he questions whether moving the bus terminal to Union Plaza is the best option as he feels he has not heard enough feedback on how the move would affect Sun Metro’s commuters.
“We (the city) need to hear from the riders. The most important group is Sun Metro riders,” he said.
O’Rourke added that any move would have to be considered in regard to the “big picture” of Sun Metro’s agenda, such as the proposed commuter hub at Glory Road and Mesa Street and how any changes might economically affect Downtown business owners.