Renovations inside downtown El Paso's historic Kress Building are still grinding on, with plans to turn the old five-and-dime into a food hall, spa and entertainment complex. The Art Deco landmark, once a bustling discount department store, is slowly being reborn as a multi-level destination backed by El Paso billionaire Paul Foster.
A Downtown Icon Gets a Second Life
Renovations of the historic Kress Building are still underway in downtown El Paso, according to KVIA, which revisited the project's progress after first reporting on it back in 2022. Representatives from Franklin Mountain Investments, the firm in charge of reimagining the building, will guide the station through the ground floor as part of that update. Franklin Mountain Investments bought the Kress Building in 2018 from previous owner Billy Abraham, folding it into Foster's downtown real estate portfolio alongside the Plaza Hotel restoration, per the station's report.
Foster, described by the outlet as an El Paso businessman and billionaire, has said the project will include a spa, salon, food hall and entertainment venue. He has also proposed an underground tunnel connecting the basements of the Plaza Hotel and the Kress Building, with the stated aim of bringing more people into downtown El Paso. The city's incentive package for the project was announced in 2022.
Art Deco Roots and a Five-and-Dime Legacy
The building is known for its Art Deco architecture, and the Kress Building's own website has described it as a mark of artistic excellence, the station's report notes. Accounts of exactly when the store opened differ: KVIA's report states the building opened in 1938 as a local installment of the Kress Five and Dime department stores, while an earlier account from El Paso Inc. put the opening in 1937, with the store operating largely as a five-and-dime until about 1980. The Kress Five and Dime chain was named after founder Samuel Henry Kress and was known for offering birthday cakes and cosmetics at low prices, per the same KVIA account.
Plans for the building's interior have taken shape gradually since the deal was first announced. A groundbreaking ceremony for the former Kress Department Store building was held on April 27, 2023, according to the El Paso Times. That report described plans to turn the building's gutted first floor into a food hall featuring a full-service restaurant, nine stations for local food vendors and six local retail spaces. The basement, meanwhile, was planned to become a grotto-style spa with hydrotherapy pools and a full-service salon, while the L-shaped building's cream-colored, glazed terra cotta exterior and distinctive corner tower were slated to remain intact.
The Price Tag Keeps Shifting
Figures tied to the project's cost have varied across reports over the years. KVIA's latest account puts the renovations' estimated cost at more than $20 million, with Foster having provided $18.5 million toward the work and the City of El Paso contributing more than $2 million in incentives. An earlier KVIA report from 2022 described Foster investing $18.4 million against that same city incentive figure, while Construction Reporter had characterized it as a more than $18 million project. The El Paso Times' 2023 report had projected the Foster-owned building would be completed by early 2025, though current information on a firm opening date was not available in the station's latest update.
El Paso Inc. has also reported that the project's scope broadened over time, evolving into a development that includes dining and retail, entertainment and meeting spaces, and hospitality amenities including a spa. That shift tracks with a wider pattern of Kress buildings finding new purposes across Texas. Kress operated in at least 22 Texas cities, and three of those locations are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to Texas Highways. Fort Worth's five-story Kress building currently holds 24 downtown loft units, while Houston's eight-story Kress was converted into the 109-unit St. Germain Lofts, per the same report.
Part of a Broader Downtown Investment Push
The Kress project fits into a longer run of public-private redevelopment in downtown El Paso. The city had approved 28 public-private partnerships over the previous decade that helped revitalize five historic buildings and generated roughly $188 million in downtown investment, according to Border Report. Those projects also added 600 hotel rooms downtown, Economic and International Development Director Elizabeth Triggs told the outlet. For now, the Kress Building remains a work in progress, with its Art Deco shell standing watch over downtown while crews continue building out the food hall, spa and entertainment venue inside.
