By Kent Paterson
Up for a little historic sightseeing in West Side El Paso? If you happen to be driving west on North Mesa and arrive at the hustle and bustle of Sunland Park Drive and Shadow Mountain Drive, where a Starbucks coincidentally lurks, turn right at the light and you’ll be on Shadow Mountain Drive. Keep going and a couple of blocks later you’ll notice a big empty lot on your left. Seemingly unremarkable, this patch of barren land was the object of great controversy 10 years ago.
Some of you may remember the brouhaha here over the so-called Shadow Mountain Development which promised infill of a 22-story tower complete with 219 luxury hotel rooms and 228 pricey apartments. Also, approximately 97,000 square feet of retail and landscaping space, a swimming pool deck and a 715 car parking garage. Other pitched amenities included an art gallery, ice skating rink, movie theater, massage parlor, bar or nightclub, bowling alley, bingo, and even that rarest of services-a shoe repair shop.
Project renderings depicted a palm-spruced tower building radiating a tropical beach vibe on the hot, dry desert.
The Meyers Group developers declared the project would expend $137 million and create 1,000 jobs, transforming this slice of the Sun City into a new economic hub. Based in Florida, the Meyers Group is the same company that remodeled the landmark Paso del Norte Hotel downtown (once known as the Camino Real Hotel), which now forms part of the Marriott Autograph Collection and offers its basic rooms for as little as $272 per night.
“Shadow Mountain is planned for a primarily residential part of El Paso where hotels are few and far between and is located long distances from the city’s principal attractions-UTEP, downtown, the Chihuahuas’ baseball stadium, etc,” I wrote in a June 2016 piece published in the now defunct Frontera NorteSur news service.
In the summer of 2016, both proponents and opponents of the development had petitions posted on Change.org. Although supporters stressed jobs and presumed economic benefits, neighbors feared more traffic congestion, light pollution, safety hazards, lower property values, and mountain views ruined by what was planned as the second highest building in El Paso .
Opting for high rise development, the 2016 El Paso City Council unanimously approved the rezoning of the 201 Shadow Mountain Drive lot from Commercial to General Mixed Use, allowing the ambitious project to move forward – at least in theory. KFOXTv.com quoted a Meyers Group representative saying ground could be broken in 2017 and construction finished two years later.
By 2017 developers’ plans were shifting. According to a new story on KFOXTv.com, instead of one tower, two towers were under consideration for the development now rebranded as Miradores at Shadow Mountain.
“Just about every other city in the United States, even with populations far less than El Paso, you have high rise condominiums,” a Meyers Group senior official was quoted, signaling El Chuco’s entry into the modern age.
However, nothing happened and 201 Shadow Mountain Drive retained its aesthetic of weeds, rocks, dust and blowing trash. Before too long the COVID-19 pandemic, soaring construction costs and labor shortages were rattling the land. But dreams die hard and the developers returned with yet another plan to a new but also development happy El Paso City Council.
On September 13, 2022, the El Paso City Council approved a significantly modified version of the original project. By a vote of 6-1, councilors passed Ordinance 019383, again rezoning the lot from Commercial to General Mixed Use and approving a major MZP amendment.
Voting aye were City Council Representatives Cissy Lizarraga, Alexsandra Annello, Cassandra Hernandez, Isabel Salcido, Claudia Rodriguez and Henry Rivera. Joe Molinar was the single nay vote. Representative Peter Svarzbein as well as Mayor Oscar Lesser were not present for the historic session.
According to an official case document prepared for the meeting, the city’s planning division had received only one letter in opposition. Further examination of the document readily revealed why, unlike 2016, no significant public opposition had materialized.
In 2022, Meyer Group’s original 22 story Shadow Mountain tower had now shrunk from 256 feet to 78.6 feet, consisting of a five-story main building with two additional stories on top reserved for parking.
While the land slated for development had grown from 4.17 acres to 4.59 acres and the number of planned apartments increased from 228 units to 293 units, the projected retail area had shriveled from 42,000 square feet to 2,559 square feet plus another 7,108 square feet for a restaurant.
Gone with the west Texas winds were the future hotel, massage parlor, ice skating rink and the rest of fun-filled diversions once cooking for a hopping West Side. Oh, and don’t forget the shoe repair shop that never saw a sole.
The stuff of dreams, a Shadow Mountain tower never lorded over the grit and grind of North Mesa. Ultimately, the Meyers Group quietly put up for sale the storied 201 Shadow Mountain Drive lot, according to the El Paso Times. Nonetheless, some found the vacant land useful while the development drama faded to black: campaign posters of political candidates were dutifully displayed on the deteriorating chain link fence enclosing the property during recent election seasons. In 2026 the dusty lot still sits empty while the 11-story Coronado Tower on North Mesa, which indeed does host real businesses, stands tall as the undisputed big boy of the West Side.
A survey of El Paso real estate properties reveals that the Shadow Mountain property once promoted as the cool new beehive of West Side Chuco is currently subdivided into four different parcels of one acre or a little less. As of June 17, Lot 3 was going for a mere $1,508,720. The latest listings show that another parcel is expected to anchor a new Dutch Bros Coffee outlet. Wonder of wonders, maybe economic development is coming to Shadow Mountain, after all. Cuidado, Starbucks!
(Trivia question of the week for those brave souls who still pay attention to the news. Does the Shadow Mountain saga remind you of a current El Paso development project that’s making headlines? Hint: The comparison might involve out-of-state developers, grassroots opposition, City Council approval, many promised jobs, and amplification of the original project-at least for the time being.)