La Hacienda Motel, which dates to the 1950s along Albuquerque’s Route 66, is being converted into a food court and shopping center.
Albuquerque Business First reported the property at 6214 Central Ave. (aka Route 66) will be rechristened as Hacienda Shopping Center and is expected to open by spring 2025.
Karina Chavez, one of the partners of the project, said renovations to convert the motel are expected to cost over $1 million.
Hacienda Shopping Center will include eight retail spaces, seven restaurants, two bars, a live-music area, a fountain and parking. Renovations were expected to begin this month.
All told, the project is expected to create 30 to 40 jobs.
Chavez said she also wants to restore the motel’s neon sign to honor its heritage.
According to Route 66 Times, La Hacienda Motel opened (year is unlisted) with 18 units and a sunken garden. It expanded to 21 units in 1955.
Here’s one of several postcards of the motel from the Joe Sonderman’s 66Postcards.com site:
Route 66 enthusiast Nick Gerlich reports the motel was used in a scene on the now-iconic “Breaking Bad” television drama.
The motel was operating as recently as four months ago, according to its reviews on Google. However, ratings were a mediocre 3.3 out of five stars.
The Hacienda Shopping Center is strongly reminiscent of El Vado Motel, which saw many of its rooms converted into retail or restaurant space. El Vado, however, kept some of those rooms for overnight guests.
(Nighttime image of La Hacienda Motel’s neon sign in 2009 by sfgamchick via Flickr)