Sunland Park, New Mexico

SUNLAND PARK , NEW MEX I CO there and then stay in hotels on the El Paso side. But our goal is to become a destination. We do have a funky boutique hotel project on the drawing board. This proposed development will be a unique attraction in our region, next to the racetrack and casino. It has been vetted by staff and will be going to our planning and zoning commission in the near future.” Louise Marquez, Community & Economic Development Director for City of Sunland Park, explains, “Our downtown core can be described as ‘fledgling.’ And the idea for the future is to create a downtown area that identifies the community. We do have a main road but it’s still where people just drive through, not necessarily where they come to visit. That’s the concept of this entertainment corridor – several years back, the city established a metropolitan redevelopment area, so now we have a district that we can focus on and create a commercial opportunity that was non-existent before.” The city’s demographics are changing with developed, yet. According to Perea, “We have a part of the city where the Rio Grande is no longer the boundary between the U.S. and Mexico. It goes in and out of the states of New Mexico and Texas, and in our section there is about a two-mile segment that we’re looking at potentially developing into a River Walk. We’ll be pursuing funding to do a feasibility study and determine whether it’s viable in our community.” Already a favorite destination in Sunland Park, Western Playland is a small amusement park that attracts a lot of young families to the community. And Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino draws a large number of people from throughout the region. Perea notes, “The efforts we’re doing today will allow those individuals who visit these facilities to stay in Sunland Park and then patronize our businesses within the city. We just got our first hotel a couple of years ago; the only one within the municipal limits. Many visitors to the racetrack and casino go directly