It’s vague on plans for the historic El Vado Motel in Albuquerque, but a city official indicated that preservation would be a priority in whatever redevelopment plan comes forward, according to a report this weekend in the Albuquerque Journal.
Ben Ortega of the city’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency is set to propose to the city council a redevelopment around the property next month.
The initial plan won’t include development proposals for the motel itself, but will instead offer ideas for business incentives, boundary limits, street fronts and signage, Ortega said. […]
Ortega visited the motel, a white adobe building with traditional vegas along the ceilings and Pueblo murals above each room, for the first time Friday. He said the city will try and preserve the Southwestern style in whatever application it finds for the historic building.
“I’m encouraged,” Ortega said after surveying the motel. “A lot of character-defining elements are still intact. … We would have an interest to keep those.” […]
Since the city takes ownership of the motel and the area around it is slated to soon undergo major rezoning, many options are open for the old building, Ortega said.
“The city owns the property, and we can control the development on the property, rather than waiting for the private sector,” he said.
The 1936 El Vado Motel along Central Avenue (aka Route 66) closed in 2005 after new owner Richard Gonzales said he wanted to raze it to make way for luxury townhouses. The city seized the property a few years later after a long fight to preserve it, and the Journal reports that the city replaced the roof, stabilizing the structure.