Adios ASARCO, Hello Future!
by Diego Rico
February 17, 2009
ASARCO is a done deal- at least its closure. What is not certain is the 130-acre site and its future. There are many possibilities and prospects in dealing with the amount of land, but let’s keep the discussion with ideas that are more interesting and compelling than residential areas and shopping malls. With plenty of time ahead of us for the cleanup of the site, which can last between five and ten years, why not think big?
When looking at some of the possibilities, a sizable majority of UTEP students would like to see the UT system in El Paso extend its campus. Some call for more dorms to be built for students, others say classrooms could be planned for professional studies that still cannot be found at UTEP, such as architecture and law. The amount of space for the university to grow seems to be shrinking as the school has taken record breaking enrollment rates and improving levels of education for undergraduate and graduate degrees. With the ASARCO site being blocks away from the current campus, some students can’t resist thinking of adding another part to their expanding university.
Some across the city have called for the acreage to be allotted for a park. When thinking of the features of sophisticated metropolitan cities such as Chicago and New York, their city’s park, Millennium Park and Central Park, are areas where residents and tourists can enjoy their leisure time, have a walk or a jog, read and talk, or simply relax. A park in the former smelting land could be an improvement to the lifestyle within the city, but the considerable size of the site can also bring in a hefty amount of property taxes to those interested in purchasing and using the land. In that aspect, a park’s bid may not be the highest.
How about a solar plant for the Sun City? A solar plant producing energy from a renewable resource, one which is abundant and present 365 days a year in El Paso, is an innovative idea that can offer our city and region new opportunities to grow. As the nation aims towards an energy policy focused on renewable resources it is exciting to imagine our city as one of the potential showcases for the modern national direction in green technology.
Artist rendering of a solar plant in the current ASARCO site. | OFFICE OF ELIOT SHAPLEIGH
Much of our attention when looking towards projects that will improve the city and residential lifestyle revolve around the current Downtown redevelopment plan; yet, industry within El Paso must also increase in order to bring about the desired changes. A solar plant is a contemporary energy industry that is on the rise globally. Being able to allocate that land for the specific purpose of solar energy would open the doors for companies from all over the nation to bid for the acreage. The city can offer certain incentives to attract those high-level industry companies in order to secure a deal that is beneficial to the citizens and the nation, placing our Sun City in the national spotlight.
The plan for a solar energy plant can also help the burden of an overwhelming population growth in El Paso. Without a doubt, El Paso Electric, our city’s electricity provider, will be affected by the startling increase in populace and the emergent problem of supplying energy will become an issue. The proposed energy plant can supplement the quantity of energy El Paso Electric will need in order to match the demand from the city’s businesses and residents. The solar plant can place El Paso on a national scale as well as secure the energy we need in order for our progress to continue.
ASARCO is leaving with a mixed legacy; one of admiration from its former workers who appreciate the company for the jobs it once provided, while others comment on the company with harsh disdain for the environmental damages it created. No matter on what position one may have supported the fact remains that the company will close and the site is open for possibilities. It is time for the city, its residents, and the student body to begin a positive and ambitious discussion on the future of the site that can influence our city and our region.
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Erik Pavia February 18, 2009, 8:58 pm
A lot of those ideas sound good. That property could really improve the quality of life around here as long as they don’t use that space for retail or for apartments or for manufacturing. Retail as we know it is dead people, we need to let go.
Chuy Licon February 19, 2009, 7:38 pm
The solar power idea is a good one too. Never thought of that idea. If the ASARCO site is not cleaned up then solar plant would be the next choice. To make the land a park would take alot of energy and resources.
Expanding UTEP, might be better by looking across from UTEP, at the nearby grain silos and where Old Ft Bliss use to be. Extend Schuster into a bridge over the railroad tracks. There is land south of Yandell and north to those grain silo; all of it north of Paisano. And south of Paisano the Old Ft Bliss buildings. That is where UTEP should expand first. IF that where to happen and IF ASARCO land was beautified into a park, I think our side of the border could affect the other side of the border. Maybe a pedestrian crossing to Mexico for those Mexican Nationals that are also UTEP students. Just throwing my old ideas.
Chuy Licon February 19, 2009, 7:41 pm
Solar power is a great idea but one for the outskirts of town. I would put it where old Mountain Shadow Lakes use to be or on the other side of the Little Hueco Mountains, near Ft Bliss.