On a bright and sunny Tuesday morning, demolition workers tore in to six buildings in the Duranguito area. City contractors had gone against a court order delaying the deconstruction permits that had previously been granted.

Protestors were quick to arrive on the scene and tensions were rising rapidly, but for what reason?

Without a doubt, the contractors should not have commenced any sort of demolition with a court order delaying it. However, it is time we accept changes to our community as we look toward the future of our city.

Many of the buildings residing on Chihuahua Street have been beaten up, run down and almost forgotten up until recent events. Granted, some residents refuse to have their property taken but most are glad to see their city expand.

The vast majority of these buildings are in horrendous and unsalvageable conditions; restoration is virtually a lost cause.

Protesters have been attempting to preserve the city’s deeply rooted history with these structures, however, their vigorous efforts are futile. A large percentage of these protestors are not residents of Duranguito area, nor do they have direct connections to the area.

These citizens are battling to keep these buildings in the downtown area despite the fact that they serve little to no purpose to our community as a whole. One may argue that the history is engraved in the framework of these structures. There is no factually proven historical significance to support these claims.

Furthermore, I do not see the overall goal for the construction of a so-called “multipurpose” arena. The arena was set to be built with the stipulation that it would not be used for sport-related activities. This cancels out a monumental amount of uses for the 180-million-dollar structure.

City officials should look at the bigger picture and use this large grant to re-purpose Duranguito in a manner that could strengthen our community. With that money, we could make El Paso a sight to be seen—a true tourist destination. We could amount to so much more than a “multipurpose” arena, we should fight for our future not for our past.