Grand reopening

Re-imagined classic Route 66 motel to celebrate $18 million renovation

Vacant for more than a dozen years, the historic El Vado Motel at Central and New York SW will come back to life today with a celebration of its restoration.

Tours of the renovated, 22-room motel are slated from 6 to 10 p.m., and the new owners will host a party on the plaza, featuring live music, taproom happy-hour prices and an opening ceremony at 8:30 p.m.

The motel has undergone an $18 million upgrade, which included some public funds.

El Vado, a local icon of the Route 66 heyday, has been in limbo since closing in 2005 when the previous owner said he wanted to tear it down for luxury townhouses. The city seized the property a few years later after a long fight to save it.

There it sat, its courtyard choked with weeds and the perimeter enclosed by a chain-link fence.

“It’s great to welcome the El Vado back officially,” said developer Chad Rennaker during a tour earlier this week.

Rennaker is president of Palindrome Communities, the Portland, Ore-based firm behind the mixed-use project. He also is the founder and owner of PINTS Brewing Co. in Portland and Ponderosa Brewing Co. in Albuquerque.

“It’s not a traditional motel,” Rennaker said of El Vado. “We didn’t just want to restore rooms, but to add amenities to make the stay interesting for guests.” Since taking possession in late 2016, Palindrome embarked on an ambitious plan to restore the motel by refurbishing the rooms and lobby area and building a new meeting facility.

El Vado now includes a boutique hotel, with

rooms starting at $137 a night; a 32-unit apartment building next door; an events center; an amphitheater where concerts are planned; a taproom featuring local brews; food purveyors and retail tenants; and a large swimming pool and outdoor lounge area.

The idea is for guests to interact, enjoy the premises and other Albuquerque attractions. “We kept the cable package limited, so they won’t be holed up in their rooms” watching TV, said General Manger Carrie Confair, adding that 75 percent of the rooms are booked for the upcoming weekend.

“It’s been great having this little burst of economic activity” at the site, said Rennaker.

“We expected challenges” he said of restoring the badly deteriorated motel, which came with unforeseen utility and soil-related issues that caused delays.

The original motel opened in 1937. It’s among the sites highlighted by the National Park Service as a historically significant example of the automobile tourism that sprouted along Route 66.

The 22 rooms and suites at El Vado pay homage to those classic vehicles of yesteryear. They sport names like DeSoto, Packard and Hudson.

Rennaker’s company also has acquired the nearby Monterey Motel with plans to refurbish it.

ROBERTO E. ROSALES/JOURNAL The courtyard at the El Vado Motel along old Route 66 west of Old Town welcomes locals and visitors patronizing a taproom, food purveyors and indie craftspeople and artisans. The motel portion opens this week.

A couple of men check out the new taproom at the El Vado Motel on Central SW. The complex will celebrate its $18 million restoration in a ceremony today.

El Vado’s former lobby is now home to the Ponderosa Brewing taproom, where twolegged and fourlegged patrons are welcome.

Chad Rennaker is president of Palindrome Communities, the Portland, Ore-based firm behind the El Vado Motel mixed-use project on Central SW along old Route 66.

Southwest-themed merchandise is among the items offered for sale by indie artisans and retailers around the courtyard at the revived El Vado Motel near Old Town.