Urban village rising in El Paso

Follows City’s SmartCode

David Crossley, Sep 19, 11.

The first buildings of a massive $777-million Westside urban village are little more than wood skeletons towering over North Mesa Street right now, but the developer is already preparing to launch its next projects, the first to follow El Paso’s Smart Code adopted a few years ago, according to a story in El Paso Inc:

Richard Aguilar’s EPT Land Communities expects to start construction on a senior community, as well as town homes, in six months. They will be located behind the four apartment buildings, called The Venue at Montecillo, now under construction along Mesa.

It’s all part of a 293-acre development named Montecillo that broke ground in May, located along Mesa Street between Castellano Drive and Festival Drive, extending to Interstate 10.

“It’s no longer just talk and rhetoric, we actually have concrete pieces in place and the whole thing is moving forward,” says David Bogas, EPT Land Communities’ development director.

When fully built, the urban village is expected to have more than 2,500 apartments and almost 500 homes and town homes, mixed with schools, retail, offices and 80 acres of open space, mostly arroyo. MORE

More from Planetizen:

Montecillo, a 293-acre ‘urban village’, is the first development to take advantage of El Paso’s new Smart Code. The project launched in May, and the developer is already preparing to get Phase 2 off the ground.

Robert Gray reports that “....when fully built, the urban village is expected to have more than 2,500 apartments and almost 500 homes and town homes, mixed with schools, retail, offices and 80 acres of open space, mostly arroyo.”

Gray explains El Paso’s smart growth strategy:

“Generally smart growth means development that is vertical, packing more into a smaller space, and designs where schools, shopping and public transportation are within walking distance of homes and apartments.”

El Paso’s SmartCode can be downloaded from their website.

SmartCode website