It’s been slow, but the Needles (Calif.) Desert Star reported this week that the effort to restore and eventually reopen the historic El Garces hotel, restaurant, and railroad depot in Needles is making progress.
The stumbling point has been whether the Federal Transportation Administration will approve a joint operating agreement between El Garces LLC and the city, or some other arrangement.
Alan Affeldt, owner of La Posada in Winslow, Ariz., and lead developer of the El Garces project, sent a recent email that clarified things :
Now FTA has to decide if the City can be a partner with anyone (like me, which is very challenging but possible) or if the city has to do it themselves (which is highly unlikely).
Most importantly, FTA has to decide if the City can transfer (sell) title to the property to a private party (like me) if certain USE conditions/restrictions are met.
Everyone thinks they should allow transfer, without which the rehabilitation cannot be financed, but FTA has statutory obligations to protect the public interest in the project grants.
It is alas not a simple problem, but we seem to be getting closer to an answer which will make the options clear to all the parties.
We should hear something by spring…
It should be noted that Affeldt isn’t an unproven or fly-by-night operator. His revival of La Posada is one of the greatest success stories of the Southwest. His track record should carry a lot of credibility.
El Garces opened as a Harvey House hotel and restaurant in 1908. It closed in 1949. The older alignment of Route 66 goes right by the landmark. Efforts by Affeldt to restore El Garces began in 2007, but were put on hold in 2011.