we’re working on an urgent care facility within the city,” shares Perea. “We need to work on bringing activities for kids, so we’re continuing the expansion of our sports complex to cater to the growing sports tourism industry. We are also looking at investing in a new municipal complex, a one-stop shop. Currently, we are in an old elementary school that was built a long time ago for a whole different purpose. And we’ve outgrown this facility.” The proposed complex would consolidate city services and include a new city hall, police department, and fire department, all intended to meet the needs of a growing population. Over the past year, the city has added 3,000 acres to its boundaries, creating room for expansion. Additionally, Sunland Park is planning for new services and infrastructure that will be required to support future development. Business attraction firm Retail Strategies has been engaged to help identify new commercial opportunities, and the city is working with developers to bring in new businesses. “There is a focus on economic development,” the mayor stresses. “We’re a small municipality with limited resources, but we recognize the fact that to change that, we need to be able to provide new jobs, provide new opportunities for investment and economic growth.” As a result of these efforts, Sunland Park will soon welcome a new travel center, a gas station, and new restaurants.“There’s a lot of different opportunities that are coming to the city of Sunland Park and a lot of change, from a sleepy rural community on the edge of El Paso, to one that’s just as pivotal and important for economic development and growth in the entire region,” he underscores. PRIORITIZING HEALTHCARE AND HOUSING City Manager Mario Juarez-Infante elaborates on one of Sunland Park’s most significant initiatives, the development of a micro hospital campus. Over the past 15 months, the city has secured three acres of a nineteen-acre site for a project that would include an urgent care facility, a standalone emergency department, and a medical office building. “We have gone through the zoning, got it approved, carved out the three acres, and have got those now transferred over to the city,” he relays. “We’ve also completed a medical market analysis, which shows 138 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 02
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