Las Cruces unveils draft El Paseo/South Solano MRA plan; council to consider adoption July 7

City of Las Cruces economic-development staff and consultants on June 23 presented a draft metropolitan redevelopment area (MRA) plan for the El Paseo and South Solano corridors that recommends corridor reconstruction, targeted catalytic projects, neighborhood stewardship actions and potential policy tools to support reinvestment.

Why it matters: The MRA plan provides a statutory framework (state MRA statute) for the city to pair public investment and incentives with private redevelopment in a defined area that city staff and residents say includes dozens of vacant parcels and unoccupied buildings. The city plans to bring a pair of resolutions to council on July 7: one to adopt the plan and one to extend the MRA boundary to University Avenue.

Consultants from Site Southwest and civic-design and engineering partners described the planning process, which included a community design workshop, stakeholder focus groups, a survey with more than 2,000 responses, and a year-long technical review. The consultants proposed concentrating investment on a small number of "opportunity nodes" rather than spreading funds across the entire, unusually large MRA. Recommended catalytic projects include: a transformative redesign of El Paseo as a multimodal corridor connecting downtown and New Mexico State University; support for small businesses and façade/rehabilitation assistance along South Solano; activation and master planning for Valley View Park; and targeted infill housing development on identified opportunity sites.

Staff and consultants said public safety, pedestrian safety and neighborhood identity emerged as the highest priorities in community outreach. The draft plan includes programmatic and design recommendations: improved lighting and shade, crime-prevention-through-environmental-design measures, coordination with Las Cruces Police Department'led initiatives, and a possible police substation at a key node. City economic-development director Elizabeth Teeters said the city has budgeted $100,000 toward a safety-improvement pilot targeted to the El Paseo/South Solano MRA and aims to have MRA-related incentive programs active by September.

Policy and implementation steps: Teeters said the plan will return to council July 7 for adoption and that the city will form an internal MRA committee of department directors or their designees during the October budget season. That committee will review and screen projects for capacity, priority and funding and will bring recommendations to council (staff likened the expected workflow to the CIP process). The city will also prepare a GRT baseline and county property-tax baseline for possible tax-increment financing; that baseline work will be returned to council for resolution in January'February 2026.

Council members and public commenters emphasized several themes: streamline permitting and reduce administrative barriers for small property owners along South Solano; pair any regulatory "stick" such as a vacant-property ordinance with incentives and assistance; increase active-transportation and shade to reduce transportation costs and heat exposure; and prioritize public investment and programs to build neighborhood stewardship.

Public commenters included representatives of local advocacy and nonprofit organizations: George Pearson of Velo Cruces urged protected bike lanes and safer bicycle parking; Ashley Echavarria, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Las Cruces, said her organization aims to break ground this year in the plan area and offered space-sharing ideas to increase daytime presence; residents and community leaders urged rapid action on vacant lots, lighting and pedestrian improvements.

The plan recommends a mix of short-term, low-cost actions (neighborhood cleanups, signage, temporary park programming) and longer-term infrastructure projects (El Paseo redesign, park rehabilitation, coordinated development on opportunity sites). Staff recommended continued coordination with Elephant Butte Irrigation District on lateral/arroyo trail connections and said the plan will be available for public comment through June 27 on the city's MRA website. Council discussion requested follow-up briefings on specific policy tools (CPACE, vacant-property approaches) and on how Realize Las Cruces zoning changes affect redevelopment prospects for the corridors.