Facelift Coming to Downtown Eye Sore
By Mayor Sharon King
 My Excite-O-Meter is about a 12 on a scale of 10! The City signed an agreement recently to sell the former Portales Inn to Ambience Hospitality, LLC.  In its hay day, the hotel was a bustling business with many people having special memories about activities there.
Recently the Portales Memories Facebook page contained several comments from former and current residents about the memories they had of the Cal Boykin (its original name), Plains Inn and then Portales Inn.  People recalled proms, wedding receptions and civic club meetings at the old building.  Many former ENMU students wrote about working there, me being one of them.  The memories flowed over several days and brought smiles to many faces.
Over the past several months, the folks of the Roosevelt County Community Development Corporation, especially its director Orlando Ortega and president Randy Knudson, have spent many hours in the trenches with possible developers.  They visited with two corporations who were interested in developing apartments and two who were interested in taking the structure back to a hotel.  In the end, the hotel model won.
Ambience Hospitality, LLC, estimated that it will cost approximately $3 million to redevelop the property.  The short-term benefit to the city will be the creation of 40 jobs during construction with an estimated payroll of $1.5 million.  The long-term benefit will include a maximum of 20 jobs in the first 3 years with an estimated payroll of $280,000 per year.
In addition to job creation, the reopening of the hotel will bring more taxes into the city.  The estimated annual tax increases are $80,000 in Gross Receipts Tax; $50,000 in Lodgers Tax; and $29,100 in Property Tax.
The City’s LEDA (Local Economic Development Act) committee recommended to the Council, and it was approved, to contribute $500,000 to the project.  Those funds will be doled out to Ambience based on certain milestones being met.  The first third ($166,666) will be issued when demolition of the building redevelopment is substantially complete. The second third will be when the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors have been substantially completed.  The final third will be issued when the first floor has been roughed in.

 

 

Downtown merchants will also see an increase in business due to visitors staying nearby.  Although there is no plan for a restaurant in the hotel, there are eateries located a short walking distance from the hotel that lodgers can enjoy. There is even an ice cream shop and a cupcake shop within walking distance.  You can’t get much better than that.
Yes, my Excite-O-Meter is running high.  I can’t wait for construction to begin!