EL PASO, TX-The March 13 announcement that Austin-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas will build a theater to anchor the Montecillo Town Center, a retail component of the 292-acre mixed-use Montecillo is on the right track. Montecillo, on which vertical construction began in 2011, is El Paso's first smart code development. The purpose behind the smart code is to reward developers for developing urban cores in which walkability, civic interaction and a lot less driving are some of the main characteristics.

El Paso has had the smart code in place since 2009, and Montecillo developer EPT Land Communities acquired the acreage on Mesa Drive during the late 2000s with the idea of creating El Paso's first mixed-use development to fit the smart code's pedestrian-friendly, high-density, service-oriented mandate. The goal for Montecillo was, and continues to be, the aesthetic look, feel and function of an urban village, complete with storefronts and multifamily properties fronting streets, with the ability to walk from one of those apartments to a nearby restaurant.

Local news reports noted that it took the local developer a couple of years to smooth terrain before breaking ground on its first vertical project. This was the 290-unit Venue at Montecillo which, in addition to its apartments, has approximately 15,000 square feet of retail space.  The project, which delivered in mid-2012, is close to leased up. As such, "there does appear to be a demand for multifamily units in Montecillo," comments EPT Land Communities director of development David Bogas, with a laugh.

Bogas tells GlobeSt.com that an active senior facility consisting of 150 units is now being built, and construction will soon launch on 263 more apartments and ground-floor retail. "We have the potential for approximately 4,000 to 4,500 multifamiliy units, whether they be condos, townhomes, breezeway, mixed-use, any of those environments," Bogas comments. He adds that there are 200 to 400 lots that could work for single-family developments as well.

Then there is the commercial and retail side. Bogas says the development can support several thousand square feet of commercial development that could range from private businesses to medical real estate. And on the retail side, restaurants, entertainment and shops are the plan.

Which is where the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema comes in. "Alamo hit at the right time for us," Bogas observes. "With our relationship with the city and what we decided to do with the entirety of Montecillo – developing a smart growth environment based on the smart code ordinance – this was a big deal."

Bogas acknowledges he's uncertain as to the Alamo Drafthouse development timeline – "sooner rather than later," he notes. As for how the deal occurred in the first place, "We're a group that isn't afraid to pick up the phone and make calls," Bogas says. "I don't know if Alamo made the first call or if they returned our call, but we got together, and the result is this announcement." The next step is to get restaurants into place, and Bogas says there's been a good deal of interest, though nothing specific just yet. The retail deals are being handled in-house, with Mat Pepe representing EPT.

"We're trying our best to bring services to some of the traditional neighborhood districts; places where you could walk to a little grocery store or the cleaners," Bogas says. "The more walkability there is, the lower the carbon footprint output."