Boots Motel back up for sale

The historic Boots Motel in Carthage, Mo., which nearly saw the wrecking ball after a developer bought it, is for sale for $225,000, according to a new listing by a Joplin-based real-estate company.

Pro 100 Realtors is listing the property here.

Jim Hunter of Pro 100 said in an e-mail: “I hope it can go to a party interested in restoring it.”

After a local developer purchased the Boots in 2003 and ceased its operations as motel, it was widely reported (but not confirmed) that the building would be razed to make way for a Walgreens drugstore.

After Route 66 advocates and the Carthage newspaper decried this plan, the redevelopment was scuttled. The Boots Motel has been used as apartments ever since.

The Boots Motel was established at Garrison and Central streets in 1939. That was where Route 66 intersected with U.S. 71, and for many years was called the “Crossroads of America.” Reputedly, movie star Clark Gable stayed at the Boots Motel overnight during a cross-country trip.

The Road Wanderer’s site says the motel is a good example of Streamline Modern architecture. Also:

For its time it was indeed thoroughly modern with a radio in every room, tile showers, floor furnace with thermostat control, air conditioner and garage.

Photographs of the Boots Motel can be seen here.

7 thoughts on “Boots Motel back up for sale

  1. Someone is trying to turn a tidy profit. What would it cost to get it up & running again, another $225,000? I really like the Boots but it would take a long time if ever to recoup your investment even if there was no interest on the money.

    1. Remember, Croc, there are two parcels of land with the property — the motel, and land right next to it. It’s not just the motel itself that’s for sale.

  2. Yes – but the real question is how much did he buy it for, and if less than or about half what he’s asking, then he’s definately preying on the Route 66 community and holding it hostage?

    The land thing might be fine if we were talking about the big city or ocean front property, but typically in these locations, the land’s not nearly worth as much as the business that’s sitting on top of it, and in this case, I suspect the business isn’t making much, even though we all know it’s potential? The typical asking price for any hotel, anywhere, is 2 to 2 1/2 times it’s gross revenue, and real estate almost never comes into the equation, unless you’re talking about a new build where you have to acquire vacant land in a prime location for a construction site.

    That’s what helps the average buyer calculate not only the price, but how much they can afford to spend on rehabing the property, and still get their money back out in the end. And if they can’t do that, then what’s the point?

    I believe the owner was at a similar asking price range previously, but that was also before the bottom of the market fell out completely, and now we’ve been in a recession for years, where most feel extremely lucky just to get their 2 times gross and not a penny more. If his real interest were Route 66, I suspect he wouldn’t be trying to sell so high, and he’d be a lot more concerned with a quality operator that could appropriately preserve the property and it’s history, Mom & Pop or otherwise? Maybe he’ll negotiate appropriately???

  3. That’s unfortunate then, apparently the price was too high all along? Again, it’s nice if you have the money to play with, otherwise those are pretty much the standard rules for purchasing any hotel…

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.