The long-awaited redevelopment of De Anza Motor Lodge in Albuquerque officially began Wednesday with a ground-breaking ceremony at the historic but closed Route 66 motel.
Mayor-elect Tim Keller and current mayor Richard Berry, who officially leaves office this week, were there to help use the shovels at the event, according to Albuquerque Business First.
The newspaper had more details about the upcoming redevelopment of the site:
The city previously owned the land but the project group — called Anthea at Nob Hill LLC – bought it for an undisclosed amount. Jim Trump, a consultant for the project, said that deal closed Wednesday. The purchase was anticipated to be finalized in October but Trump said entitlements pushed it back.
The project has one retail tenant at the ready but Trump would not disclose who it is. The team is currently looking for a restaurant tenant too.
The redevelopment will overhaul the 50,000-square-foot De Anza. Turquoise Cafe, which is in the southeast corner of the development, will become office spaces. A boutique hotel is planned for the property as well. Workout facilities, a movie room, a game room, communal kitchen and apartments are also among the plans. HB Construction is the contractor and Hartman + Majewski Design Group is the architect. TLC Plumbing Heating and Cooling will be doing the mechanical work and the broker is Lisa Allen-Urrea with Sedberry and Associates CRES and is handling the leasing.
One of the contractors involved with the project said the entire project should take about 18 months. That puts the reopening of De Anza in summer 2019.
The redevelopment will preserve the motel’s sign, several buildings and the rare Zuni Pueblo murals in the basement.
KOB-TV in Albuquerque filed this report from the scene:
The city had eyed the resurrection of De Anza for the last 10 to 15 years, including two other developers who bowed out of the project because of varying issues.
Zuni trader and Indian art collector Charles G. Wallace and motor court operator S.D. Hambaugh built De Anza in 1939. The motel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Meanwhile, another historic Route 66 property in Albuquerque, El Vado Motel, is slated to reopen as a boutique hotel and other uses sometime next month.
(Image of De Anza Motor Lodge by Paul Narvaez via Flickr)