City demolishes Downtown building

The city of El Paso recently demolished the building at 222 S. Campbell, next to the El Paso Police station and around the corner from Fire Station 1.

The demolition is to make way for a massive new special teams fire station as part of the city’s $413 million public safety bond, passed by voters in 2019.

“Through a selection process, we had this property that the city already owned and a building that wasn’t in plans for the city to use anymore,” said Sam Rodriguez, the city’s chief operations officer.

The building and property have been owned by the city for decades and once housed the public health department. The building was once known as the J. Harold Tillman Health Center.

When City Hall was demolished to make way for the ballpark, some city departments were temporarily housed in the building.

The new fire station will combine Fire Stations 1, 9 and 11, Rodriguez said. Fire Station 1 will be demolished.

“We did structural repairs several years back, and it’s on the latter end of life on that structure,” Rodriguez said. “The equipment is so heavy on that building.”

The new fire station will be 28,348 square feet and have 10 bays, 94 parking spaces and plenty of room for equipment. The project is slated to cost about $17.1 million, Rodriguez said.

The city expects to wrap up the design phase of the project this year. Construction begins in 2023, and the fire station will open in 2025, Rodriguez said. The police station next door will stay.

As part of the public safety bond, the city will spend about $191.2 million on projects related to the fire department, including new fire stations, upgrades to existing stations and vehicle replacements.

The city will spend about $222 million on bond projects related to the El Paso Police Department, including a new Eastside command center, renovations at other command centers, a public safety training academy and fleet replacement.

Email El Paso Inc. reporter Sara Sanchez at sesanchez@elpasoinc.com or call (915) 534-4422.