Amazon, Meta, and the Sunset Amphitheater: Three Projects Changing El Paso

Three major projects are reshaping El Paso right now. Two of them benefit massive corporations. One of them is actually for us. Let me break down what's happening, what's changed since we first covered this on our YouTube channel, and what it all means if you live here or you're thinking about moving here.

Amazon's Growing El Paso Footprint

Amazon now has two facilities in El Paso, with a clear strategy for the region.

The big one is the 2.5 million square foot fulfillment center in Far East El Paso near Eastlake and I-10. It opened in 2021 and employs around 2,000 people. This is a main hub where orders are processed, packed, and shipped out to smaller delivery stations.

The newer project is a 160,000 square foot delivery station on the West Side at 7850 Paseo Del Norte, valued at about $51.5 million. Construction started in 2025. This isn't a second fulfillment center. It's a last-mile delivery station, meaning packages from the big Far East hub get routed here for final delivery to West Side customers. The city sold 44 acres for the project and has already installed traffic signals at Paseo del Norte and West Towne in anticipation of the increased traffic.

For residents, the practical impact is faster delivery times on the West Side. The jobs picture is less exciting. Delivery stations are heavily automated, so the long-term employment numbers won't be anywhere near the 2,000 at the Far East hub. And the I-10 corridor on the West Side is already congested. More truck traffic from a distribution hub isn't going to improve that situation.

The bigger signal is that Amazon keeps investing here. They built the Far East fulfillment center, saw enough demand to justify a second facility, and chose to expand rather than consolidate. For a city El Paso's size, that says something about the growth trajectory.

Meta's $1.5 Billion AI Data Center (Northeast)

This is the one that's generating the most debate in El Paso right now, and the situation has gotten more complicated since we first covered it.

Meta broke ground in October 2025 on an AI-focused data center on a 1,000-acre site in far Northeast El Paso, near the Texas-New Mexico state line. The investment has grown to $1.5 billion for the initial phase. The facility is designed to scale to 1 gigawatt of power, with an operational target of 2028.

To put 1 gigawatt in context: that's enough electricity to power roughly 750,000 to 1 million homes. One building.

The jobs situation hasn't changed. About 1,800 construction jobs during the build (temporary) and around 100 permanent operational jobs. For a $1.5 billion investment in a city of 700,000, a hundred jobs is not meaningful job growth.

But the real controversy is how they're going to power this thing.

The Power Plant Problem

When Meta first announced the project, the messaging was that existing infrastructure and new solar capacity would support the data center. That story changed. In January 2026, El Paso Electric filed to build a brand new $473 million natural gas power plant called the McCloud facility, specifically to power Meta's data center. It would sit on 31 acres right next to the data center in Northeast El Paso.

El Paso City Council pushed back. The county has also slowed down aspects of Meta's tax incentive deal. Local groups like the Sembrando Esperanza Coalition are calling for the city and county to terminate their contracts with Meta altogether.

The concerns are legitimate. El Paso already ranks among the worst cities in the country for ozone pollution. A new natural gas plant doesn't help. And we're still in a desert. Meta is permitted to use up to 1.5 million gallons of water per day, depending on temperatures. They say their closed-loop liquid cooling system will use zero water for much of the year, but "much of the year" doesn't mean "July and August," which is exactly when a desert city's water stress is at its worst.

Meta is getting an 80% break on city property taxes for 35 years. They're paying about one-fifth of what they'd normally owe. The question El Paso residents should be asking is straightforward: is a hundred jobs and a corporate tax break worth the water usage, the air quality impact from a new gas plant, and the strain on our electric grid?

I don't think the answer is obviously yes.

The Sunset Amphitheater (Northeast)

This is the project I'm actually excited about, because it's for the people.

The Sunset Amphitheater officially broke ground in November 2025 at the old Cohen Stadium site in Northeast El Paso. It's a 12,500-seat outdoor venue backed by a $31.5 million performance-based incentive package from the city, with a total project cost of $80 million. The projected economic impact is $2 billion over 10 years.

The opening was originally planned for late 2026 but has been pushed to 2027. VENU is managing the project and they've announced some premium features: 228 Luxe FireSuites and the Aikman Club, a VIP hospitality area in partnership with Troy Aikman, with 156 memberships available.

What matters for regular El Paso residents is the concert schedule. They're planning around 40 shows a year. People always say El Paso doesn't get big touring artists, and that's partly true. We don't have a venue that makes it worth their while to stop here. A 12,500-seat amphitheater changes that math for promoters and artists routing tours through the Southwest.

The Northeast location is a good call too. The West Side gets most of the new development. Horizon is blowing up. The Northeast doesn't always get the same attention, and putting a major entertainment venue there gives that part of the city something to build around.

What This Means for El Paso Real Estate

All three projects point in the same direction: outside money is coming into El Paso.

Amazon's expansion confirms growing consumer demand and logistics infrastructure. Meta's data center, for all its controversy, puts El Paso on the map in the tech infrastructure world. The Sunset Amphitheater makes the city more attractive as a place to actually live, not just a place where things are affordable.

For homebuyers, the practical takeaway is that these investments tend to push housing demand in their surrounding areas. The Far East already saw growth after the Amazon fulfillment center opened. The Northeast is going to get attention from both the Meta facility and the amphitheater. The West Side delivery station adds another anchor to an area already seeing commercial development around I-10 and Simmons.

None of these projects are going to double your home value overnight. But a city that's attracting Amazon, Meta, and a major entertainment venue in the same window is a city with momentum. And momentum is good for property values long-term.

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John David Peña is the owner of Peña El Paso Realty Group and host of the YouTube channel "Living in El Paso Texas." For questions about buying or selling in El Paso, reach out at penaelpaso.com.