Posted at: 05/29/2009 8:32 PM
Updated at: 05/29/2009 8:35 PM
By: Stuart Dyson, Eyewitness News 4; Charlie Pabst, KOB.com
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Landmark hotel razed
Economy InnA 60s landmark on Old Route 66 in Albuquerque was demolished Friday, all in the name of progress.
In recent years, cops say the old Tradewinds Motel, most recently the Economy Inn, was a haven for drug dealers, prostitutes and other shady people. The once-spiffy and prosperous motel will soon be a pile of rubble.
Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said Friday, " In my 27 years in law enforcement, I've been on this property more times than I want to count— it goes back to when the old El Cid used to be next door— so this is a good thing for this area of the city."
The motel’s owners welcome the demolition. Taxpayers will foot the $219,000 bill to raze the property. Owners have three years to pay it back or they lose the land. They have plans for the spot.
"We are planning to put a 200 room hotel with a convention center in the front - about 200 rooms - it depends on the city - how far they let us go up," said owner Burt Mody.
Pete Dinelli with the Safe City Strike force told Eyewitness News 4, "This is the 11th motel along Central that we've actually closed down, and this will be the seventh motel that we've actually torn down. Over the last several years, we've taken action against roughly 54 motels along Central." The mayor calls it a “green” demolition—everything that can be recycled will be.
