Almost 12 years after the Route 66 landmark closed, developers began construction on the historic El Vado Motel and hope to reopen it as a boutique motel by late summer.
KOB-TV in Albuquerque reported that construction began last week.
Ponderosa Brewing is expected to open a tap room on the property next to 21 small motel rooms, retail spaces, and food pods.
“It’s going to have an amphitheater,” Montano said. “It’s going to have a revitalized pool and other gathering spaces that certainly will bring back to life what this hotel once provided for the Route 66 corridor.”
Here’s a video report from the project:
El Vado is part of an $18 million project, with $3 million in assistance from the city.
Irish immigrant Daniel Murphy opened El Vado Auto Court Motel on Route 66 in 1937. It’s cited as one of the best examples of pre-World War II motels in New Mexico. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
El Vado closed in 2005 after new owner Richard Gonzales said he wanted to bulldoze it for luxury townhouses. The city seized the property a few years later after a long fight to save it.
(Image of El Vado Motel sign via the city of Albuquerque)