New Marcus B. Armijo Pool and Library Expansion

The New Marcus B. Armijo Pool and Library Expansion is one of many Success Stories that have been locally nominated for recognition in celebration of CDBG's 30th Anniversary.

Success Story Details

Success Story Description

The Marcus B. Armijo Complex (a park, recreation center, pool and library) is located in El Paso's Segundo Barrio and serves one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city, of which 99% of the population is of Hispanic ethnicity and 87.4% of nearly 10,000 residents are in the low-to moderate-income range. The US/Mexico international boundary, downtown El Paso, public housing projects, and a commercial zone border the community. The CDBG Program has invested over seven million dollars for various construction projects at the Complex, where many community wide activities are held and are participated by and/or in collaboration with residents, neighborhood schools, non-profit agencies serving the community, and nearby day care centers. In the 22nd Year (1997-1998) with the assistance of CDBG funding, the City of El Paso, Texas took the first steps in the process to demolish the existing outdoor pools and extensively redevelop a new enclosed aquatic facility and expand the public library at the Armijo Complex.

The best City pool is located in one of the City's the poorest neighborhoods. The award winning, aquatic facility includes two pools - a seven-lane competitive size pool and a smaller, recreational theme park pool equipped with water amusement play equipment. These two pools can accommodate 605 people at a time. Glass walls and a skylight like ceiling provide a light and airy environment with a view and the feel of swimming outdoors. The heated indoor pool is open year round and the healthy recreational activities held here foster a positive influence in an already blighted area, known to have gang involvement and criminal activity. The aquatic facility offers lap swimming, water aerobics, swim lessons, recreational swim, and recreational summer swim league. At the deep end, float belts are provided for deep-water therapy. Bathhouse renovations and landscaping were included in the project scope.

Also award winning, the Armijo Branch Library Expansion enhanced the informational services and extended educational opportunities to all community residents by expanding the size and capacity of the Community Meeting room and by creating a Computer/Lifelong Learning Lab. The expansion of the meeting room has allowed the community to enjoy the comforts of a more spacious facility due to the addition of 5,000 square feet. This expansion provided additional public service reading areas, additional space for library programming and meetings, and has created a gallery area for the display of exhibits/artwork by local artists. The Computer/Learning Lab offers use of computer workstations with internet access. Classes include, ESL, citizenship, word processing, CD-Rom and interactive curricula to improve reading and math skills.