Heritage, Fall 2006 Page: 23
39 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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From top left, clockwise: Historic image of El Paso, 1910. From
www.elpaso.org; early image of The Popular Dry Goods Store;
Henry Trost, architect; and modern lofts of the Union Fashion
Center. Opposite page: Top, an early postcard of El Paso Street
in El Paso. University of Houston Libraries. Below: The retail
space of the renovated Union Fashion Center.floors of the main building, as well as amenities such as exercise
and meeting rooms on the penthouse floor.
Because this project was so radically different from any
other in downtown El Paso, the first three phases of work
took place over many years in order to allow the owner and
investors adequate time to gauge the market response. There
are signs of success: in 2002, the mayor of El Paso honored
Wright and Dalbin Architects, Inc. with the Pioneer Award for
leading the way to downtown revitalization with this project.
Architect Frederic Dalbin explained the success of the re-use
project this way. "The Union Fashion Center was the perfect
vehicle for launching El Paso's downtown renaissance. It saved
an important icon of El Paso's past and became particularly
meaningful for today's El Paso citizens because it created jobs
and mixed housing."
The Union Fashion Center project exemplifies the kind of
revitalization efforts that the city now embraces. Other publicly
funded rehabilitation efforts in the downtown area include
the remodeling of the convention center, the restoration
of the historic Plaza Theater, construction of several museums,
and redevelopment of Union Station. These, in addition to the
Union Fashion Center project, helped city leaders see the need
for a comprehensive plan to redevelop and revitalize downtown
El Paso. In 2005, city leaders and The Paso del Norte
Group began development of the Master Plan, which is now
under review. The plan focuses on creating two distinct districts:
the Historic Incentive District and the Redevelopment
District, each designed to complement one another rather
than compete with each other. The Historic Incentive District
will include 175 acres and some of El Paso's most significant
historic structures. The design encourages the re-use of the existing
architecture by offering tax incentives. The Redevelopment
District, on the other hand, focuses on five elements tocomplete 127.5 acres of new structures. The five areas include
high-end urban retail, mixed-use residential structures, a local
retailer and artisan mercado, arena, hotel and entertainment
venues, and a Bi-National Arts Walk. The plan draws from
examples of successful downtown centers that utilize their historic
structures while allowing the controlled growth of new
architecture.
Much like the Union Fashion Center project, the planners
envision a downtown where people live, work, shop, and relax
all in the city's center. For those who would like to see
the return of a prosperous downtown El Paso-like the one
in which the Popular Dry Goods Store thrived-that vision is
becoming reality.
Lauren Vienne is a graduate student in the historic preservation
program at the University of Texas at Austin.HERI TAG E/ Fall 2006
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Fall 2006, periodical, Autumn 2006; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45367/m1/23/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.