Luna Lodge in Albuquerque soon will be reborn

The nonprofit NewLife Homes has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for noon March 23 for a project that will reuse the historic Luna Lodge motel in Albuquerque into a 30-unit mixed-use development and apartments for low-income families and special-needs people.

The redevelopment will preserve the Luna Lodge’s Pueblo-style architecture. The Luna, at 9119 Central Ave. (aka Route 66) was built in 1950 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. It’s been vacant for several years.

Here are artist’s renderings of the redeveloped Luna Lodge:

NewLife provided a few details about the project:

The project is a 30 unit development including a community room/small business incubator training kitchen, laundry room and office. The project includes the rehabilitation of the old motel into 14 apartments and the development of an additional 16 units on the North side of the property.  This area is targeted by the City of Albuquerquefor significant revival over the next few years with special zoning ordinances being fast-tracked and a transportation hub being developed.

The project is respectfully designed and attractively positioned with the appropriate height, scale, and mass to preserve the historical significance of the old motel. The community room will serve as a small business incubator for a commercial kitchen/café and double as a meeting space for residents.  It is the hope that the training kitchen will serve as a resource for community residents seeking to acquire skills in the food industry.

Project has equity from historic tax credits, sustainable tax credits, and federal low income housing tax credits along with numerous grants.

New Mexico has been seeing a small but nice trend in reusing old Route 66 motels. The historic Sundowner Motel, also in Albuquerque, will be converted into housing for the mentally ill. And the Stage Coach Motor Inn in Santa Fe is being transformed into lower-income housing.

Albuquerque in particular is saturated with motels along Central Avenue. So it’s good that the city is trying to find other ways to use them, instead of simply tearing them down.

(Images courtesy of NewLife Homes)

4 thoughts on “Luna Lodge in Albuquerque soon will be reborn

  1. Hi. My grandparents, Annie Lee Clay & Roland Clay, owned the Luna Lodge during the 60’s and 70’s. My father was a night clerk during the 60’s. That’s where he met my mother. My parents, my brother and myself lived in the apartment above the office during the mid 70’s. I would appreciate being able to have any of the older advertising or post cards or pictures of the Luna Lodge. Please feel free to contact me via e-mail. Thank you, Heather (Dill) Sabado

    1. Ms. Sabado: would like to speak to about the Luna Lodge. I’m with NewLife Homes and we are getting ready for the open house on March 18th. please contact me via e-mail.

  2. I love seeing this..i live just north of the Luna Lodge as a young boy in the late 50’s…I have fond memories of chasing lizards and building tumble weed forts in the mesa to the west of the motel haha my dad was stationed at Sandia Base and we moved in 1960…I will travel back there very soon COOL

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