el paso skyscraper project secures important backing

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Plans for what will be one of the tallest buildings in the history of El Paso have now won crucial financial support in the form of incentives from both the El Paso City Council and the El Paso County Commission.

The West Star Tower, slated to go up on a full city block at 601 N. Mesa in downtown El Paso, is receiving up to $3.5 million in tax rebates from the City of El Paso and $2.9 in tax incentives from the county.

The project, proposed by the El Paso-based Hunt Companies, working in a partnership with West Star Bank, was originally envisioned as a 14-story building.

But now, the developers say that the sleek glass-encased tower will top off at 18 floors, housing at least 200,000 square feet of Class A office and retail space.

Both the Hunt Companies and West Star will occupy office space in the tower, with West Star also opening a commercial banking outlet on the ground floor.

Additional plans call for the creation of a parklike green space adjacent to the tower, which will be accessible to the public.

Construction on the big project could start later this year or early 2019, with an early 2020 completion date.

Hunt purchased the 601 N. Mesa site in the fall of 2014 and subsequently demolished a BBVA Compass Bank outlet there.

Through the decades, the property has been used for many commercial purposes, and was, in the 1950s, the home of an El Paso Dixie gas station.

By Garry Boulard