ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A California group recently announced that the historic Hotel Blue on the edge of downtown will be getting millions of dollars in renovations. Now the public is getting a first glance at what that will look like.
“It’s a federal historic tax credit project to renovate the facade of the hotel to bring it back to that historic character. Most recently, it was Hotel Blue, but we’re bringing it back to the mid-century modern style,” said Ryan Mcculloch.
The bottom level will have a coffee shop and bar for guests when they check-in. Outside there will be a pool and a lawn area for games like bocce ball.
Ryan Mcculloch with Neighborhood Establishment says the hotel’s name will change to ‘Arrive Albuquerque.’ Their group is hoping this will bring even more change and development to the area.
“We feel that downtown is really on the rise, and there’s a lot of projects in development that are going on along Central Avenue. You also have that development going on in the west downtown business organization, and so we feel that there’s a gap to be filled here, and we feel this hotel will really be a catalyst for that and contribute to really creating a vibrant Central downtown corridor,” he said.
The hotel will lose a couple of rooms, going down to 135 from 144 to make some of the rooms slightly larger than others. Arrive Hotel plans to put $22 million into the renovations.
Also on the ground level, there will be spots for food trucks to park and serve guests. The project is expected to break ground early next year and will take 12 months to complete.
