The City of Albuquerque’s Landmarks and Urban Commission held a hearing for 3 1/2 hours Wednesday, but no decision was made about whether to allow a demolition permit for the historic Route 66 motel, according to the Albuquerque Tribune.
The commission will hold another meeting Jan. 10 to hear more witnesses and testimony. Based on the Tribune report, it sounds like city officials, including the mayor, are adamant in wanting to prevent the motel’s destruction.
It sounds like El Vado Motel owner Richard L. Gonzales’ lawyer is trying to set up a smokescreen to obscure that the demolition permit requirements aren’t to being met. You can read an overview of the basic arguments that I compiled a few weeks ago.
The only likely option Gonzales will have left is an appeal to a higher court to overturn the decision. But legal fees are already stacking up; it’s going to get to the point where he’s going to have to cut bait and sell the motel instead of continuing with his vain quest.
UPDATE: Here’s another story from the Albuquerque Journal. Here’s the key portion:
“Crocker & Associates (a city consultant) believes the building assemblage to be in ‘remarkably good condition’ and they arrive at a cost estimate of $964,706 for rehabilitation of existing buildings at El Vado.”
The city did not finish presenting its case Wednesday. But structural engineer Charles Bacchus told commissioners that “demolition is not justified from a structural standpoint.”
Gonzales had quoted an engineering firm that said the motel needed $2.5 million in rehabilitation. But Crocker is a firm that specializes in architectural preservation, including earth structures such as El Vado’s, and the firm Gonzales hired does not.