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Monday, January 17, 2011
City Wants New De Anza Proposals
By Lloyd Jojola
Journal Staff Writer
The city hasn't given up on trying to redevelop the old De Anza Motor Lodge site.
Sometime soon, the city was expected to again solicit redevelopment proposals for the historic Route 66 property that it bought for $891,000 in 2003.
The Albuquerque Development Commission last month approved issuing a new Request for Proposals, the latest in a string of RFPs that have been issued in hopes of redeveloping the landmark that sits at 4301 Central NE. A development agreement that was reached at one point ultimately stalled.
"That agreement was reached in 2006, and it was subsequently extended, but it was terminated (last year) by mutual agreement," said city planner Maryellen Hennessy, who has worked on the RFP. She tied the termination to "basically a lack of progress."
The now vacant, fenced off property sits on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and Washington. It's listed on the state Register of Cultural Properties and National Register of Historic Places. The motel was completed in 1939 and "was among the new generation of motor lodges born along U.S. Route 66," a planning department staff report states.
The lodge was developed by C.G. Wallace, a Zuni trader and American Indian art collector, who in 1951 commissioned Zuni artist Tony Edaakie to paint murals on the walls of a basement room. The imagery of a Zuni ceremonial procession remains intact "and is considered by cultural professionals to be a rare example of such artwork to be found outside of the pueblo," the staff report further reads. "The former 'Turquoise Coffee Shop' at the southwest corner of the site retains a terrazzo floor with turquoise chips and inlaid silver figures."
With the redevelopment, the city wants to maintain historic aspects of the motel.
"It's still the city's intention to preserve those murals, and the RFP is also noting that the city would like for a portion of the site to be available for a small museum, visitors center," Hennessy said. "We're trying to draw from the biggest pool of interested parties we can, but that (cultural preservation) is certainly an integral part of the city's expectation for redevelopment."
The zoning under the sector development plan allows for mixed uses, and a Metropolitan Redevelopment Plan adopted several years ago identified the lodge as a "catalytic project."
In commenting about the new draft RFP, the Nob Hill Neighborhood Association noted that the previous RFP was more restrictive with regard to historic features and "that limiting re-use options adversely affects redevelopment potential," the staff report reads.
The Route 66 De Anza Association recommended a "stronger emphasis on the historic preservation aspects of the project."
Meanwhile, Highland Business and Neighborhood Association representatives wrote: "The De Anza has been a sad site ... for many years now."
Outgoing HBANA president Claude Lewis remembered people in his group discussing what to do with the property as far back as 17 years ago.
"I think that certainly the time has come, but with the (state of the) economy, I'm not sure what may result in the effort," he said in an interview. "I would like very much for somebody to come in and be able to do something with this building."
"It's a landmark," Lewis said, "and it should be treated as such."
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