Construction of a water park is the first phase of the Cohen Reimagined Project and is scheduled to begin next year.
Developers have proposed an entertainment district that will replace the Cohen Stadium in El Paso, Texas. The district could include several stores, restaurants, a water park and a hotel.
Proposals will also consider a performance stage with a large video board and a media studio.
The water park is the first phase of development, and construction is scheduled to begin next year at a cost of $7.7 million.
It is scheduled to be completed by Summer 2020.
City Council Member Sam Morgan said: “It’s a culmination of a lot of hard work and planning. We have a master developer who truly understands the whole concept of an entertainment district.”
“Residents of the northeast made it very clear we don’t need more residential ,we need something that is family oriented and that is more of a destination type event.”
The project will be funded privately and publicly. The City of El Paso will contribute more than $12 million. This will be funded through a tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ). They are also seeking a private developer.
Funding through the waterpark will come from the 2012 Quality of Life Bond and the 2017 Capital Improvement Plan.
Sam Rodriguez, an El Paso city engineer, said:
“We always understood that this needed to be a private/public partnership. We’re going to need private investment to come in and to make the development a reality. We already have some of the public funding that’s required for some of the uses. Now it’s just establishing that vision, so that we can go out and fully market the overall vision for this entertainment district.”
The northeast water park is just one of 5 water parks the city is building around El Paso. All are scheduled to be complete by Summer 2020.
Image via ABC 7
https://www.kvia.com/news/el-paso/the-new-vision-for-cohen-city-council-gets-a-sneak-peek/783994476
