Proposals to redevelop the historic but long-closed De Anza Motor Lodge in Albuquerque will be revealed sometime in mid-March, when the Albuquerque Development Commission reviews them.
Richard Metcalf, commercial real estate columnist for the Albuquerque Journal, reports the proposals are essentially sealed documents under state law. The secrecy is meant to prevent behind-the-scenes lobbying.
However, Robert Munro, co-owner of O’Neill’s Pub and Gioco sports bar near De Anza, says only one of the prospective redevelopers has consulted or engaged with the neighborhood with its proposal.
Munro said the lack of community engagement by other groups that submitted proposals has created “anxiety on the part of some board members of Nob Hill Main Street and the neighborhood association about unknown uses that might be proposed for the site.”
The city won’t even show how many proposals were submitted. Based on Munro’s complaints, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were just one.
Also, the request for proposals contain some key changes compared to other redevelopments of other historic Route 66 motels in Albuquerque:
One change from past RFPs and the most recent one is that the city is no longer seeking the preservation of the entire De Anza site as it stands today – eight one- and two-story buildings with 36,718 square feet of space – but only the buildings fronting Central.
Allowing new construction at the back or north end of the site will open the way for a higher density play that might pay off for a redevelopment group, but it appears nothing is for sure.
So it’s clear the motel site likely will change markedly if the proposal is greenlighted. De Anza has seen at least two previous developers fail to do much, which likely prompted the city to change its requirements for redevelopment. One developer told the city that requiring full preservation of De Anza was a “marginal” business prospect.
Zuni trader and Indian art collector Charles G. Wallace built De Anza in 1939. The long-vacant motel, at 4301 Central NE, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The site was used in at least one scene in the acclaimed television drama “Breaking Bad.”
(Image of De Anza Motor Lodge by themikebot via Flickr)