Albuquerque mayor opposes El Vado rezoning

This is from this morning’s Albuquerque Journal about the El Vado Motel. I ordinarily would post the URL, but the newspaper has subscription-only content. Here is an excerpt:

Mayor Martin Chávez said Monday he will oppose a zoning change that could lead to demolition of El Vado Motel, which he said is historic and should be preserved.

The motel, at Central and New York near the BioPark, is on the
National Register of Historic Buildings and is “too important to be demolished.”

Richard L. Gonzales, who is buying El Vado, wants to develop 10
townhomes on the site, according to documents filed with the city. He is asking the city to rezone the property from commercial zoning to “RT” zoning, which allows townhouses.

The mayor said, “I have as a private citizen written to each member of the Environmental Planning Commission, asking them to refrain from any action that would allow the present owners to demolish El Vado.”

He said his administration would work with the owner to find a way to preserve the structure, although he said it doesn’t matter if it is used for something other than a motel.

The motel’s future has drawn wide interest from Route 66 enthusiasts-including a man from Germany who sent an e-mail to the Journal saying his recent trip along the “good old Mother Road” was a “boy’s dream becoming true.”

Hat tip to Brian Kreimendahl, who reported the story to the Route 66 e-group.

UPDATE: Jerry Euckert of the Edgewood Advocate also reported this morning:

Mayor Martin Chavez has publicly made statements that imply he will not allow the El Vado to be demolished, and stated in a radio interview this morning that the city will be looking into buying the property to preserve it.

On the other hand, the developer Gonzales in this morning’s Journal remains adamant, saying, “I’m going to proceed.” …

I was privy to a Chavez communication yesterday in which he stated there was NO WAY he would allow the demolition of the El Vado, also reminding the recipient that it was El Vado, not “the” El Vado. (El already means “the”.)

By the way, the Journal quoted a Joey “Blues” Stokes, who said the razing the Vado would be like, “shooting BB King.”

Also, I got this e-mail from Ed Boles from the City of Albuquerque, essentially stating that it would be difficult for El Vado’s new owner to demolish the motel on short notice:

A permit would be required in order to Legal demolish a building.. This would require a sign off from several departments. These department would the Historical Preservation, Zoning, Building and Safety and Environmental Health. They would also have to provide a Hazardous Material report indicating that there is no Asbestos, Lead or any other possible hazardous material that would require special consideration when removing.

Bottom line is they still need to legally go through an extensive process if they are looking at demolishing this property. We will monitor this location to try an insure that if they intend to demolition they obtain the proper permits.

UPDATE: Here’s another report from the Albuquerque Tribune.

Here are two things in the report that stick out:

El Vado is not on the city’s historic registry, but (Mayor) Chavez said it is on a national list.

On Monday he filed for an application to make it both a state and national historic landmark.

This is significant, because adding it to a historic registry would give the city additional ammunition to deny a demolition permit.

Then there’s this item: 

(Mayor) Chavez said he wants to see the motel turn a profit again. His first avenue is to work with Gonzales, he said, but he’ll consider working with other developers or using the city’s power of eminent domain.

Eminent domain has been the subject of cussing and discussing in the past few months. But this shows that while eminent domain can taketh away, it can giveth to Route 66.