By Gary Sandler
Las Cruces Sun-News
After decades of doubt, speculation, and in some cases outright disbelief that the revitalization of downtown would ever become a reality, a majority of the groundwork needed to support development is in place. It is upon that groundwork that several local developers and the city of Las Cruces intend to invest upward of $60 million in new public and private projects.
One of those ventures is a project that has been incubating for some time: the former Doña Ana County Courthouse, on Alameda Boulevard between Lohman and Amador avenues. A Las Cruces developer plans to transform the historic building into the Doña Ana Hotel and Conference Center. The planned four-star property will also house restaurants, boutiques and an adventure-tour operator.
First announced in February 2014, the concept is the brainchild of Bob Pofahl, managing partner of Las Cruces Community Partners LLC. Pofahl is also a partner in the development of the 110-acre Parkridge Urban Village on the site of the former Las Cruces Country Club. He and his LCCP partners, Doug Wright, Steve Newby and Eddie Martinez, are the developers of the new downtown plaza, which is scheduled to be dedicated Sept. 17.
“The vision for the hotel is to create something similar to the Inn at Loretto in Santa Fe or the Hotel Parq Central in Albuquerque, where the building’s history is preserved throughout the redevelopment process,” Pofahl said. The property, built in 1937, will retain its designation on the state’s historic registry.
While details of the plan have yet to be finalized, proposed modifications include adding 10,000 to 20,000 square feet to the building’s existing 40,000-square-foot footprint, and the creation of 120 guest rooms and suites. Each room will utilize art, fabrics and unique doors to reflect the history of an early Las Cruces pioneer family, according to Pofahl. Also on tap are a rooftop bar overlooking the city and Organ Mountains, a swimming pool, conference center, retail space, and a spa and fitness center.
The property will be operated by La Tour Hotels and Resorts, operator of luxury boutique hotels. According to its website, www.latourhotelsandresorts.com, the company operates nine properties in the U.S., Mexico, Puerto Rico, South America, the Caribbean and Canada.
“The hotel will be, if not the best in New Mexico, certainly in the top three or four,” said John Small, vice chairman of the board. “It will be a superb experience for guests and residents, as well as for corporate and business travelers.”
Small estimates it will take 18 to 24 months to complete the project, at a cost of between $20 and $22 million. And the renovation is expected to await the realignment of Church and Water streets in downtown, roadwork which is scheduled to start in early 2017.
In case you were wondering what will become of the unfinished eyesore on the corner of Amador and Main, it will be redeveloped along with the hotel project as either offices or repurposed space, or it could be torn down altogether, according to LCCP. Both properties are owned by John Hoffman of El Paso.
In addition to the hotel, many other projects are slated for downtown development. The site of the former My Brother’s Place restaurant will be home to “a multi-tiered complex that will house four full-service restaurants, including fine dining, a rooftop lounge, the offices of the Las Cruces Convention and Visitors Bureau, and an event courtyard that can accommodate up to 700 or 800 people,” said Max Bower of Red Mesa Development & Design LLC, the project’s developer. The value of the undertaking is approximately $6.5 million. Demolition is scheduled to begin in two weeks, with completion anticipated in fall 2017, Bower said. The working name of the build is the Amador Project.
A companion to the Amador Project is restoration of the historic Amador Hotel. The Amador Foundation is the steward of the property, which is owned by the city and listed on the state’s historic register. To date, the foundation has raised $500,000 in private donations and $500,000 in legislative funding. Additionally, $1 million from the city has been earmarked for asbestos abatement, and $195,000 in state capital outlay money will go to repair and stabilize the interior columns.
“The additional $1 million will go a long way to completing the project,” said Heather Pollard, the foundation’s president.
Also planned is an expansion of the Bank of the West building on the corner of Main Street and Las Cruces Avenue. The bank will continue to occupy a portion of the northern end of the ground floor, with a three-story addition to the south side of the building, overlooking the new plaza. The addition will contain office space, with restaurant and retail spaces occupying the ground floor. The cost of the project is approximately $1.5 million, according to Pofahl, one of the building’s owners.
In early planning stage is a multi-use development adjacent to the plaza. Las Cruces Community Partners envisions a $12.6 million project that would provide for ground floor restaurant and retail space, with residential units on the upper floors. The time required for planning and building is approximately two years, according to LCCP. That developer is also on tap to upgrade the city-owned Camuñez building, one door south of the Rio Grande Theatre. The building, whose last occupant was the state juvenile probation office, will house a brew pub and restaurant. Renovation is estimated to be completed within 18 months at a cost $1.5 million.
Restoration of the historic Armijo House, which is listed on the state’s historic register and located adjacent to the Loretto Town Center, has been underway for more than two years. A total of $800,000 in gifts and donations have been invested to date, with more work slated. When completed, the building will be home to the Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce.
“We hope to be in the facility first quarter of 2017,” said Debbi Moore, president of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce. “We are committed to the project and look forward to the chamber offices being housed in such an integral part of Las Cruces history.”
Arriving at this turning point didn’t happen overnight. The city and scores of forward-thinking citizens have been exploring how to create downtown development opportunities for the better part of the past two decades. The latest round began in earnest in 2009, when the state’s first Tax Increment Development District (TIDD) was established to fund the downtown infrastructure needs that are in place today and planned for the future.
It was around that time downtown stakeholders, along with city, county and state officials, banded together with intrepid restauranteurs, retailers, nonprofit organizations and redevelopment experts to put into place the mechanisms that make today’s projects possible. Elected officials, state legislators and citizen volunteers, as well as the Downtown Las Cruces Partnership and Las Cruces MainStreet donated thousands of hours and countless resources in support of the projects, which at the time could only be imagined. And there’s more to come.
The city will soon reconfigure the Water and Church streets “racetrack” to accommodate two-way traffic, extend Water Street south to Lohman Avenue, and complete the creation of two new streets bordering the plaza. In addition, Las Cruces, Griggs, and Bowman avenues will receive facelifts.
By all accounts, the jewel that is the heart of Las Cruces is on its way to shining brighter than ever.
Downtown Las Cruces project values
At least $60 million will be plowed into downtown development over the next several years, including the following projects:
– Dona Ana Hotel Complex: $22 million
– Amador Hotel restoration: $2.2 million
– Amador Project: $6.5 million
– Camunez Building: $1.5 million
– Bank of the West addition: $1.5 million
– Plaza area retail and lofts: $12.6 million
– Downtown plaza: $5.6 million
– Church/Water street reconfiguration: $7 million
Source: LCCP, city of Las Cruces, Red Mesa Development & Design