REVIVAL ON ROUTE 66
Work speeds up on El Vado, adjacent Casa Grande sites near Old Town
Renovations are moving along at the classic El Vado Motel on Central SW, and the developer says there’s good synergy with the new construction going on at the adjacent Casa Grande site. Both projects should be finished this fall.
Construction is moving forward on the long-awaited restoration of the El Vado Motel as well as redevelopment of the former Casa Grande site. Crews have been active for several months on both work sites, reports Rick Davis, an Albuquerque residential and commercial builder and executive director of Family Housing Development Corp., a local affordable housing developer. Public sector sources, including Albuquerque’s Family Housing Development Corp. are contributing $3.4 million to fund construction, while the remainder of the $18 million being spent on the projects — which includes land acquisition — will be covered by private investment led by Portland, Ore.-based Palindrome Communities.
“All the subcontractors are local,” said Davis of the businesses doing concrete work, dry walling and insulation, framing, and electrical work. “On any given day, there are probably about 50 people working down here,” he said of the site in the 2500 block of Central SW.
The Casa Grande portion, which will eventually have a new name, will comprise two brand-new buildings totaling 45,000 square feet, said Davis. A significant portion will offer affordable housing under federal guidelines. Davis said a property management firm will handle the market rate and affordable rentals. It will support a population that’s already downtown working every day — restaurant workers, store clerks and bank tellers, Davis said.
The ground floors will be devoted to commercial tenants, said Davis, with NAI Maestas & Ward marketing the ground-floor spaces to retailers. “I think we’ll see a lot of interest from boutique clothing operators, jewelry store owners, art dealers,” said Davis.
Completion is targeted for fall of 2017.
Next door, restoration work is occurring on the exteriors of the El Vado, which was built in the classic adobe Revival style. For years, the building sat empty — an eyesore with peeling paint, its courtyard weed choked and the perimeter enclosed by a chain-link fence.
The revitalized El Vado property, one of the few remaining classic Route 66 motels, will include a boutique motel, event center, community food pods, tap room, spa pool and amphitheater. Calls to Palindrome developer Chad Rennaker inquiring about an opening date were not returned, but Davis said crews are working “hand in glove” with construction scheduling. “There’s a lot of synergy between the two projects,” he said. “In fact, we’re actually going to rebrand Casa Grand and leaning to the name El Vado Place.” Oh, and they’re keeping the lights on. For the first time in years, the 80-year-old El Vado Motel sign is greeting motorists on Central. This neon sign was restored for $13,000 with the city contributing $6,500 and the balance paid for with a matching grant from National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. The sign is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.