Amador Hotel could be fully restored within five years

Thanks to $5 million in funding over the next five years from the City of Las Cruces, the historic Amador Hotel may be fully restored and reopened by 2028.

“This funding is a milestone for the restoration of this incredible building and is a signal that this city believes in historic preservation,” said Heather Pollard, who has been president of the Amador Hotel Foundation for the past 14 years.

The money comes from the city’s downtown Tax Increment and Development District (TIDD), which the city created in 2009 to generate revenue for public improvement projects in the downtown area. TIDD is funded through existing gross receipts tax revenues, with additional funding from the New Mexico Legislature. Funds were awarded at the city’s April 24 TIDD meeting.

The Amador restoration project also received $1.5 million in TIDD funding in 2021 and $500,000 in 2022.

In addition to thanking Mayor Ken Miyagishima and members of the Las Cruces City Council for their support of Amador Hotel renovations, Pollard also thanked staff at the city Public Works, Quality of Life and Economic Development departments, along with former New Mexico State Senate Pro Tempore Mary Kay Papen and former state Representative and city lobbyist Ray Davenport (1929-2016), who served in the New Mexico House of Representatives 1961-68. Pollard also thanked the Amador family and current members of the New Mexico Legislature for their support.