After multiple delays, the Route 66 Visitor Center on the west edge of Albuquerque now is scheduled to open sometime in May next year.
Shelle Sanchez, the city’s Department of Arts & Culture Director Shelle Sanchez, gave the tentative date during a tour of the property on Thursday, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
Arts & Culture spokeswoman Tanya Lenti said the opening might coincide with Albuquerque’s Route 66 centennial celebration kickoff in late May or early June.
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She said the 21,000-square-foot building is expected to house an exhibit area featuring items such as classic cars and art, a taproom, event room and a sign park that is expected to include classic neon. It will also host events and be available for private rentals.
“We believe in this project,” Sanchez said. “We want to make it amazing. We want people to come here and be engaged and inspired.”
Sanchez said the cost for the exhibits, including the sign gallery, is slated to cost between $500,000 and $750,000.
The $13.8 million Route 66 Visitor Center, situated at a scenic spot on Nine Mile Hill on the city’s west side, encountered rising costs and construction delays — some COVID-related — since the project was first announced in 1992.
It also underwent an ownership change; it initially was owned by Bernalillo County.
(Screen-capture image from video of the Route 66 Visitor Center in Albuquerque)