Construction on El Vado project will begin by summer

El Vado artist's rendering

The long-awaited redevelopment project for the historic El Vado Motel in Albuquerque will begin by summer, reported KOAT-TV, citing sources with the city.

The plan is to turn part of it into a boutique motel with an amphitheater, a pool, shops and a food court. Construction for an affordable apartment building next door will begin in 2017.

The project is expected to cost $16 million.

Palindrome Communities is the developer, which is a partnership between PacifiCap and the Sawmill Community Land Trust. More about Palindrome’s plan may be read here (PDF document).

Irish immigrant Daniel Murphy opened El Vado Auto Court Motel on Route 66 in 1937. It’s cited as one of the best examples of pre-World War II motels in New Mexico. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

El Vado closed in 2005 after new owner Richard Gonzales said he wanted to bulldoze it for luxury townhouses. The city seized the property a few years later after a long fight to save it. So the eventual reopening of the motel is more than 10 years in the making.

(Artist’s rendering of the repurposed El Vado Motel via the city of Albuquerque)

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