Some of our Favorite El Pasoans........and we really mean it.

Urban living is the wave of the future for El Paso. Its been seen in most large cities. Downtown Dallas has many suburbanites returning to the city due to long commutes to work.

What a bunch of morons, do they work for Paul Foster? So 245k will get me a nice view of the mojados, transgenders and the regular street bums. Not to mention being closing to the war going on in juarez. No gracias you fools

It's a good idea something differnt for a change a start to upgrade the area instead of critisizing and making premature judgement about the project and the location these two fellows have the right vision, it's a new concept in living for El Pasoans but the trend has picked up in other cities for several years now, this is a good way to start changing downtown.

Those thinking about long-term recovery, know the environment will be a big winner in the conversion to biofuels & biopower -- saw a cool site; Balkingpoints ; incredible satellite view of earth

Totally agree with you. These guys are making positive contributions to downtown El Paso. There will always be the pesimists who critize everything about El Paso. I hope we see more of these revitilization projects to improve the quality of life in El Paso.

Its a risky thing these guys are doing, lots of money on the line. But those who take the risk are the ones that can benefit the most. Good luck to you guys!

You know who will buy these? People who transact business close by and want to be near downtown and the border. You know who else? Young professionals who want to be near nightlife, restaurants, etc.

I believe that we will see more of this sort of developments/revitalizations throughout the entire downtown El Paso area, the Mogoffin Villa project is next Bassete Tower and Tevo are still pending the Plaza ahh yeah there coming slowy but surely the giant is waking up, remember it all started with the Plaza Theater revitalization and ever since then well everything speaks for itself but it will take time and people that have faith in El Paso.

Congratulations and good luck, TJ and Luke. El Paso needs to get on the band wagon if they want to compete with the other big cities. And to think, they did it without any city money. City council should recognize this type of achievement. We are waiting for the next project.

The Karams are correct in pointing out that Downtown El Paso is so small that it could be revitalized in 5-10 years and with enough private investment it will. Hopefully they's make some money and move onto another DT property. Too bad the El Paso Times does a disservice to the intelligent conversation people are trying to have about bringing El Paso into the 20th and 21st centuries by not demanding reader comments have real names next to them. Why cater to bottom feeders?

I sincerely hope it works. However, when you have the downtown district working against you, as they want to keep all of the crud stores and the eye sore flea market open it will never get better. San Diego tried to do that and if failed. They did not have success until they got rid of all that junk and got real businesses in. However, these people think that Juarez is the future of bringing business to El Paso then they need to cater to the people with more money, not people that complain when you raise the bridge fee 25 cents. Dime stores do not cut it.

Another problem you have with downtown El Paso is the transients and gang bangers. After a few good burglaries and tagging runs, it will run off good investment.

people can purchase homes and condos in nice neighborhoods on the west side for less than $100 sq/ft. it takes 10 minutes to get form the west side to downtown. not sure it's worth almost twice the cost to live in the middle of a downtown that has little, if anything, to offer. investments are expected to appreciate. how much does anyone think this property is going to appreciate in 5 or 10 years? it is highly unlikely, even considering the best-case scenario, that the downtown area will improve enough to sell living space such as this for more than $200/sq ft - which is about what anyone purchasing these flats will have to sell them for just to break even. purchasers of these apartments are not investors in themselves: they are benefactors with high hopes. god bless them.

Lisa, I wish the builders luck in the venture and hope to see many more such transformations downtown. The City can make all the investments of tax dollars they want, but unless private money like this is invested and rewards are reaped, revitalization will never come to pass.

As to the ability to post anonymously, I understand you viewpoint and see the validity. On the other hand, I work in a business where posting my name on a comment that even remotely criticizes the City or County or School Boards could, and has, caused me to be unofficially blacklisted from future contracts.

In one instance a few years back, support of a rival political candidate led to a corrupt Purchasing department throwing out bids I was associated with based on nit-picked technicalities. One employee was bold enough to confess his instructions were to go through our proposal and find any reason to disqualify it.

I learned my lesson, although it goes against my sense of integrity, because I had a number of employees' jobs and small business partners that suffered simply due to my support of a candidate. Unjust, yes, but a reality here in El Paso and honestly in most other cities.

From my point of view, the ability to post without my name supports my right to freedom of speech and is just as important as the secret ballot. Sure, it spawns ignorant and irresponsible comments from some who hide behind a made up name, but it also guarantees that some of us can speak our mind without reprisals.

Another problem you have with downtown El Paso is the transients and gang bangers. After a few good burglaries and tagging runs, it will run off good investment.

Oh, how easy it is to bash while sitting on your behind in front of your computer. A lot harder than getting up and doing something for this city. Risky, yes but it's that mindset that will move things in the right direction.

This is a great idea for poor El Paso. Growing up on Wyoming Street during the 50s and 60s, I remember how very, very vibrant downtown El Paso once was, when we had the Popular and the White House as "anchor" stores, and great theatres and other smaller stores.

El Paso's downtown went to pot worse than most in later decades, though. The NAFTA-driven loss of so much business that used to come from Mexico was a major cause, as was the flight of people to the newer centers closer to the suburbs.

We, stuck as we are in Socal, have witnessed how dramatically downtowns can recover. LA was a piece of cagada, until the recent years. There was a concerted effort to bring brilliant, stylish lofts throughout the downtown LA area, a combination of redoing old places (as the Karams did in El Paso) and building new places. Truly, LA is a genuine Phoenix--a completely new city has risen from the dump that used to be.

El Paso and the Karams need and deserve a little credit for this good start. I have only driven through downtown briefly once, in 2006, since we fled in 1990, but from what I briefly saw, not much has changed at all.

Folks, if you're going to have a city, you just have stop whining and at least try! As in so many, many other El Paso areas, there is so much potential in El Paso's downtown that no one seems to care about. Whine, whine, whine. Poor me--where's the Spirit that once made El Paso a truly unique Southwestern desert city, until the 1970s? What's WRONG with you people!

El Paso needs a concerted, united, well-planned, totally encompasing master plan for redevelopment of the downtown area, that would include the existing museum, Plaza, and Civic Center, but focus on uniting areas with grocery stores, boutiques, little parks, pedestrian areas, and clean up the dump.

As in everything else, such as your maybe some day bike paths (you really should forget bike paths and develop multiuse paths--they would get you more civic support, since more people would use them), you just can't keep giving up.

Don't you people have a CLUE about how negatively you and your city are viewed? I'd unquestionably live in Deming, Silver City, Alpine, Alamogordo, Tooele, Mesa, Carson City, etc., etc., etc., ad nausea, before we would ever consider returning to El Paso, the lethargic, anemic give-up, "depend on mommy Mexico for all our development needs" city.