The long-awaited redevelopment project for the closed De Anza Motor Lodge in Albuquerque begins in June, setting up the Route 66 property’s reopening as an extended-stay hotel sometime in summer 2018.
Construct Southwest, chosen by the city to redevelop the neglected but historic property, will begin to raze three buildings down on the property in June, reported the Albuquerque Journal.
After a year’s construction, Anthea at De Anza will rise in its place, Smith said. The historic signs fronting Central and several buildings will be preserved, as well as some rare Zuni Pueblo murals. […]
The Anthea proposal will see the De Anza transformed from a blighted motor court into upscale extended-stay units for business travelers and tourists. Plans also call for a pool, retail space and a restaurant.
The development deal, which was signed last summer, is estimated to cost $8.1 million, The city gave the developer at $490,000 grant, but it leasing the land to it for $28,000 a year.
Construct Southwest also built the Anthea at the Granite condominium-hotel complex in Albuquerque’s downtown.
Redevelopment of the historic El Vado Motel in Albuquerque also began a few months ago. It also should reopen by summer 2018. The revamped El Vado will feature a boutique motel, an event center, food pods, a tap room, an amphitheater and a pool.
Irish immigrant Daniel Murphy opened El Vado Auto Court Motel, later known as El Vado Motel, on Route 66 in 1937. It joined on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
Zuni trader and Indian art collector Charles G. Wallace built De Anza Motor Lodge in 1939. The motel at 4301 Central NE is on the National Register of Historic Places. The site was used in a scene in the acclaimed television drama “Breaking Bad” and as a shooting locale for a 2016 Tina Fey movie, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.”
(Artist’s rending of De Anza Motor Lodge project courtesy of the City of Albuquerque Planning Department)