Troubled Sahara Motel to be transformed into apartments
18-point plan with city includes improved security, more long-term rentals
An Albuquerque motel with a troubled past will get a second chance at life — but not as a motel.
Local real estate developer and broker Larry Levy, the special master appointed by District Judge Alan Malott in August to create a management plan for the Sahara Motel, said he’s optimistic changes made will turn the property from a “hot spot into normal usage.”
One of those changes commits owner Lisa Gong to convert the motel into an apartment building offering longer-term rentals of 30 days or more. No more short-term or overnight stays.
“The biggest problem cited by the city and the court was Mrs. Gong was running the property as both a motel and an apartmenthybrid. She has 15 long-term residents there and they have never been a problem. The issue that required the 911 calls had been from the overnight, short-term renters,” Levy said.
“The money that was being made from the short-term rentals was cash flow for the owner. The types of people who would want short-term evening rentals were of questionable character and what they did there was what was creat-
ing the 911 calls. Mrs. Gong now understands that.”
‘Eager to change’
That’s one part of an 18-point plan approved by the court last month that includes improvements, maintenance and management protocols for safe operation of the property, which is on Gibson near San Pedro SE.
Levy, as special master, served as a go-between among the city, court and motel ownership. He recommended 15 items in the plan adopted in the court order. He told the Journal that Gong already has complied with most of that plan.
“I can tell you that she was very eager to learn, very eager to change,” he said. “She’s been very responsive to everything that I’ve brought to her attention.”
A change that already has taken place, according to Levy, is that Gong has relinquished business control to a professional licensed property manager.
Levy said that manager holds a master’s degree and speaks Mandarin as her first language, which will allow for better communication with Gong, who also speaks the language native to northern and southwestern China as a first language.
The plan also states that the property manager will use a printed rental/lease agreement and maintain a vehicle registration list with make, model and color description, as well as a tenant list and rent roll.
Improved security
Gong already has performed requested exterior improvements, including removal of the wood pool cover, installation of security lights and cameras, installation of front and rear security gates with keypad entries and towing signage. In addition, interiors of two units are in the remodeling process to become studio efficiency apartments.
“Mrs. Gong also realizes that maintaining the property’s condition, improving some of the units that are not inhabitable, and getting them fixed up with new carpet, new paint, new toilets and new appliances, will increase her income and cause her to attract nice long-term rentals,” Levy said.
Gong previously received a “letter of intent” to purchase the property, but upon learning the existing city lawsuit was attached to the property, the transaction didn’t proceed.
Levy said Judge Malott has said that if someone should become interested in the property, the court would consider the issue.
The court will review the property’s status in six months, Levy said.
Gong declined comment to the Journal through Levy.
A 911 history
The motel has a long history of attracting serious crimes.
Calls to the Albuquerque Police Department, more than 400 over the course of 2016 and 2017, included domestic violence, theft, shootings, dead bodies, public disturbances, vandalism, drug use and drug possession, according to city officials.
The city then stepped in, filing a lawsuit in state District Court earlier this year to declare the property a public nuisance.
According to APD, the frequency and seriousness of calls have significantly decreased since Gong began adding security measures to the property.
During a 90-day period starting Aug. 1, according to police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos, officers responded to 25 calls for service where the caller either referenced the physical address or name of the motel. Those calls included disturbances, suspicious persons or vehicles, or people needing mental health services.
One incident on Aug. 8 resulted in an arrest on charges of aggravated assault and trafficking controlled substances. The incident took place in a parking lot of the property, and motel personnel were not involved, according to the report.
Nightly patrols
The motel has entered into a contract with Precision Security LLC to provide three to four patrols between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. The company also will provide two daytime patrols seven days a week and offer towing service.
The plan also commits the owner to subscribe to a background-check service to screen all tenants for active warrants and enroll in a crime-free multi-housing class, which is available at no cost from the city.
City Councilor Pat Davis expressed optimism for the future of the property.
“I’m optimistic and impressed that calls for service are down by half in a couple of months because of these changes,” he said. “I think she was in over her head, but her willingness to recognize where she was and what was at stake helped make this work.”
Davis said this case also serves as a notice for other owners of problem motels in the city.
A workable model
“Folks who want to sit down on the table with us, we can help them make money and keep it safe,” he said. “I think we have a model that works, and the court will back us up on that. I think that’s huge for the city.”
The city requested that the security monitoring system be tied to the Albuquerque Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center. Levy said he did not recommend that in his report, and it’s the only point Gong is not complying with currently, he said.
“She has complied with everything and hired a property manager, which would change the complexion of how the property is run,” Levy said. “It was not deemed by myself or the attorney representing the owner that the city needed the ability to do that if the property was being run appropriately.”
Levy didn’t know if a name change from “motel” was in the offing, but he said the Sahara represents what can happen when positive new business practices are applied during a transition to normal usage.
“I think it’s already a happy ending because the 15 items I suggested be done didn’t have to be done by the time I was through (with the 90-day appointment),” he said. “(The owner and property manager) could just give me a timeline and say that this would be done in 30 days, 60 days, 90 days. By getting right on it, it demonstrated the owner’s good faith.”