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City to pay $9 million for East Side land to build new municipal center [1]

['Elida S. Perez', 'More Elida S. Perez', 'El Paso Matters']

Date: 2023-11-22  

The city is buying 24 acres of land in East El Paso for about $9 million to build a third municipal service center.

The new center east of Joe Battle Boulevard by Pellicano Drive will cost $25 million to build, which city staff said can be distributed over multiple years.

The City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to buy the land it will need for the project from property owner Samaniego Joint Venture, which has owned the land since 1991, according to county deed records. El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego told El Paso Matters he has no ties to the joint venture.

“It’s a bare desert out there with mesquite bushes throughout the site,” said Nicholas Ybarra, assistant environmental services director.

The facility will have a fueling station with unleaded, diesel and compressed natural gas, a heavy equipment fleet service center, large vehicle parking, a citizen collection station with a 12-foot screen to block its view from the street, and a gym for city employees, among other features, Ybarra said.

The funds to buy the property are from the city’s Environmental Services Department budget.

Ybarra said the city’s appraisal valued the land at about $6.1 million in January, but an updated appraisal done in October through the city’s land management program valued the land at about $8.1 million.

The city will pay above the market value for the property because it anticipates cost savings of about $6.4 million over the next 30 years on fuel and maintenance costs since some environmental services programs will be moved to the site, according to city documents.

Ybarra said the city has been looking for a property for the facility the last four years, but the owners of the other six potential sites either declined to sell or sold the land during the inquiry process.

The city will have 60 days to inspect the property, located on an open swath of desert land with no buildings on the site. The sale may be finalized 15 days after the inspection period.

The city has two other service centers: one on Doniphan Drive in the Upper Valley and the other off Yarbrough Drive in the Lower Valley

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[1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2023/11/22/city-of-el-paso-to-buy-east-side-land-for-new-municipal-services-center/

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