Revitalizing Downtown El Paso
It’s a quiet afternoon in downtown El Paso, Texas as the dust settles and construction crews take a break from the work of the morning. Phase two of a two-year revitalization project has begun and the team has been working effortlessly to stay on track. What was once the heart of downtown, San Jancito Square has now become nothing more but a ghost town. Former shop owners have migrated closer to the U.S./Mexico border, leaving many buildings vacant in the plaza area. Walk past the buildings and for every “For Lease” sign seen the old shops of the plaza seem further away. The nearest shop, a CVS, is a block away and the small business owners are even further. Though quiet at times, the former shopping district is slowly rising to it’s former glory. With the Plaza Theatre renovation came a domino effect of restoring El Paso’s historic buildings. The city revitalization began in 2008 with the restoration of the Anson Mills building. Four years later, the building now completed, houses some of the plaza’s newest hot spots, offices and plans to add more in the near future. The building sits across from San Jancito Square. At its present state, it’s hard to imagine what the new plaza will look like. All that is visible at the moment are the 100 year old trees and an old clock that has stopped working, as if to symbolize time has frozen the area around it. One year from today the plaza renovation is expected to be completed in time for El Paso’s 80th Celebration of Lights. Time is the reoccurring theme of the historic city, for time will bring back the shops, the people, and the heart of El Paso.
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