“Disgusting” El Vado for sale for $3.25 million

Owner Richard Gonzales testifed under oath during Landmarks Commission hearings that El Vado Motel on Albuquerque’s Route 66 was “disgusting” and “not viable.”

But I got word today from an Albuquerque source that I trust implicitly that Gonzales has put the “disgusting” and “not viable” El Vado up for sale with an asking price of $3.25 million.

How much of markup is that? According to the latest land records from Bernalillo County, El Vado has a total full value of $600,200. A source several weeks ago told me that Gonzales bought El Vado for more than $660,000, and that has been affirmed by someone else since.

Based on the numbers available, Gonzales’ price is a markup of nearly 500 percent.

If El Vado is so “disgusting” and “not viable” to command that much of an increase, I hope my house is, too.

A markup like that is crazy. There are two possible explanations for this. One is that Gonzales bought low, is selling high, but will negotiate the price sharply downward that will make a potential buyer feel good about a marked-down price that will still give Gonzales a tidy profit.

The more likely scenario is that Gonzales is preparing for an eminent domain fight with the city and is trying to gain as much pricing leverage as possible. Remember, Mayor Martin Chavez said in an interview that he would consider eminent domain to preserve El Vado. And the U.S. Supreme Court recently affirmed municipalities’ rights to acquire property for the public good. If protecting a business that’s on the National Register of Historic Places isn’t the public good, I don’t know what is.

Gonzales’ strategy sounds like a Hail Mary to me, especially when a non-geek like me found El Vado’s assessed value online in about 10 minutes. I don’t think an eminent-domain judge would appreciate such a blatant markup.

(NOTE: I wouldn’t let this latest news color the content of your letters to the Albuquerque City Council to support El Vado’s designation as a city landmark. El Vado being up for sale isn’t relevant to the issue at hand. I posted this item simply for informational purposes.)

3 thoughts on ““Disgusting” El Vado for sale for $3.25 million

  1. For what it’s worth, Bern. Co. is not a reliable index of property value. You should definitely look up your own house, and you’ll see that. There’s a house on High st. that just sold for about $400,000 but the county only lists it as being worth about $100,000.

    It is especially true through the parts of downtown that are developing that values are four or more times what the county thinks they are

  2. The property as it stands is not worth one millin fair market value, let alone 3.5. regardless of how far off the estimated value is, the asking price is beyond ridiculous and extremely over inflated. A profitable turkey hotel of 3 times the amount of rooms of that hotel would be more likely to sell for 3.5 million.

    He’s trying to capitolize on the citywide interest and historic value of the place. No shame in wanting to make a profit.

    However, his unethical and greedy approach makes me ill, and I would dearly love to see the property cared for by someone more traditionally minded.

  3. I thought that El Vado would be worth something but not 3.5 million. I thought it interesting that it has been for sale for so long and found your website to clearly answer my question. I hate seeing it sit for so long without any attention. I hope that someone will keep it historically accurate and that it remain protected. It is truly a treasure.

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