By Jennifer Garcia
jgarcia@riograndesun.com
Managing Editor

Plans to turn the Western Holiday Motel on the southern edge of town into a mixed-use business have fallen through. Now all that’s left of the motel is a vacant lot and some rubble.

Demolition began on the motel, located at 1215 S. Riverside Drive the last week of February and crews could be seen demolishing the buildings and hauling away the debris.

The motel was gutted two years ago when former property owner Jeremy Rodriguez, through his company, Alondra Management Collective, began working on it in hopes of turning it into a restaurant, brewery and art space. At the time, Rodriguez wanted to pioneer a revitalization of Española, that would have included a larger plan to turn a lot near Pippin Way on Española’s West Side into a mixed-use area that would include office space, a café, grocery store and town homes.

The motel property was phase two of his development plan. He intended to work on the West Side property first, then develop the motel property.

After about a year with no visible progress, Rodriguez was contacted via email and asked how the project was going.

He responded and said, “thanks for the email. You haven’t heard anything because I’m in the process of selling. Española isn’t ready to get out of its own way, so I’m moving on.”

He did not respond to another email asking what happened and whether he had a buyer for the property.

After the demolition began on the motel, Rodriguez was contacted again via email on March 4 and asked if he sold it. He responded that he had and it was sold to Santa Clara Pueblo.

Rodriguez purchased the property in mid-2022. Before that, it was in foreclosure for 15-20 years and was owned by Century Bank. He did not disclose the purchase price, but Santa Fe County tax records showed the property was valued at $175,325 in 2024. Despite Rodriguez saying at the time, that Alondra Management Collective owned the property, the owner on record was listed as North Valley Real Estate Group, with a mailing address in Rio Rancho.

The Pueblo of Santa Clara has purchased a few pieces of property around Española recently. According to Rio Arriba County Assessor Joaquin Valdez, the pueblo purchased the old Henry Valencia property in 2024. They also acquired vacant pieces of land in La Mesilla and on Railroad Avenue, and an improved piece of property off Paseo de Oñate in 2025.

It’s not clear what, if anything, the pueblo plans to do with the properties. An email inquiring about their plans was sent on Friday to Santa Clara Pueblo James Naranjo’s office. A response was received and asked that the inquiry be made in person, however, when asked when would be a good time to drop by, they didn’t respond.

The old Henry Valencia property remains vacant.