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Motel owner, Albuquerque City Council gear up for preservation fight

By Christopher Sanchez
Saturday, January 5, 2008

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The Albuquerque City Council enters Round 2 on Monday in the fight to preserve the historic El Vado Motel, despite the owner's plans to demolish the building.

Councilor Isaac Benton said he expects the council to pass his legislation - as they did two years ago - that would brand the motel a city landmark.

"I think there's a sense citywide amongst our constituents that we've allowed too much of the city's history to be torn down," Benton said.

The motel, built in 1936 on Central Avenue just east of the Rio Grande, has been enmeshed in controversy for the past two years.

Motel owner Richard Gonzales wants to destroy part of the building to construct condominiums. But historical preservationists want it left untouched, saying it's an early example of Spanish Pueblo Revival architecture and is considered the most intact Route 66-era motel in the city.

Gonzales said he offered to preserve the building's facade, but the city wanted the entire motel intact.

He said he cannot do that because it would be too pricey.

"I have to pick up all the costs, and I don't have a say in it," he said. "It puts the owner in a real precarious situation."

He has already spent about $250,000 in economic assessments and attorney fees in what he said is a trivial battle against the city.

"To say the least," he said, "it's expensive, and it's just somewhat insane, if you ask me."

The city became interested in preserving the motel in 2006 after Gonzales said he planned to demolish the building and turn it into condos.

Shortly afterward, city councilors passed a bill that made the motel a city landmark, a designation that offers some amount of legal protection for the property.

But Gonzales swung back and took the case to state District Court, saying the city never conducted an economic impact study on the landmark proposal.

The court ruled in his favor and sent the issue back to the table.

The issue is right back where it started, after the city's Landmark Conservation Commission finished the economic impact study in November.

The report concluded that the land would be worth about $800,000 if it were to be cleared. If the motel were to stay untouched, it would have a value of about $320,000.

Despite the large gap, the commission voted to recommend that the motel be made a city landmark.

The city's planning department will go head-to-head with Gonzales and his attorney at Monday's council meeting.

Gonzales said he hopes the city councilors will vote against the preservation of the motel once they realize it's unfair to him.

"I'm optimistic that the City Council will see through all this and recognize the fact that while the El Vado has some historic significance, it's just not worth preserving," he said.

Benton said he expects a large turnout in support of his legislation.

"If you look back on the record when it was first landmarked," he said, "it was amazing how many people came forward and said, `This is historic.' "

Regardless of Monday's decision, the city and Gonzales are headed back to state District Court on Jan. 15 to decide whether he can get a permit to demolish the building - even if it's a landmark.

Gonzales said he requested a demolition permit last year that would allow him to destroy the building even if it were deemed a landmark.

"I have no choice but to do all or nothing," he said. "I can't just say part of it works, part of it doesn't."