El Paso Economy: Building Projects Continue
In El Paso, the motor and metal sounds of new construction indicate we’ve been staving off the ongoing world financial crises; buildings are going up Downtown and on Fort Bliss, as two examples. And it was good news this week when Texas Gov. Rick Perry proclaimed a strong state-wide economy.
A lot of El Paso’s good fortune has to do with builders having secured loans prior to the banking problems — the housing crisis — involving credit. Perry points out Texas’ good fortune is because the state is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other state, which helps make Texas a good place to do business.
In El Paso, two major Downtown projects are ongoing and unimpeded by the financial crises.
The Mills Plaza Properties project hasn’t slowed; in fact demolition of an adjacent parking garage, in order to build a new, larger garage, was ongoing as Congress wrestled with a plan to bailout the nation’s financial institutions.
Meanwhile, the long-vacant International Hotel, more aptly nicknamed the Baghdad Hotel because of its then-blighted appearance, has been spiffed into what will be a Hilton Doubletree Hotel. The new signage and the new facade are already apparent to the thousands of motorists who travel on Interstate 10.
On Fort Bliss, which is undergoing billions of dollars of federal construction, all projects are on schedule. Fort Bliss Commander Maj. Gen. Howard Bromberg said last month that the goal of completing one new building per week is on schedule.
There are obvious concerns. As Perry said, Texas’ economy is still interlaced with economies in other states, where conditions are much worse.And a local example of the crunch could be Hunt Communities having pulled out of the multi-million-dollar Northeast Plan — the modern-day quality-of-life community — because it can’t secure the needed bank financing at this point in time. Hunt is such a large corporation that it, a la Perry’s concern, is also interlaced with the nation’s economy.
Still, most news is good news. It’s a good feeling that El Paso is ahead of other cities in the U.S. when it comes to an ongoing, healthy economy.
Credits: El Paso Times
Tags: banking, construction, economy