Abandoned hotel to reopen sometime in fall

PORTALES — A long-abandoned hotel is set to begin serving its original purpose once again this fall, and officials are hoping the effect will be more businesses in Portales.

At a Portales City Council meeting in March of 2017, Albuquerque-based Ambience Hospitality was given the Portales Inn building on the corner of Avenue A and Third Street as well as the building’s parking lot and a $500,000 incentive.

The $4 million project is for the construction of a Best Western Plus hotel, slotted for completion between October and December, according to Will Maguire, regional director of operations at Ambience Hospitality.

“We’re kind of shooting for fourth quarter, but I know in this industry things can get pushed back, so it might be first quarter of next year,” he said.

The hotel will have 60 rooms, a fitness center, and meeting spaces, according to Maguire. One thing it won’t have, however, is a pool.

“There’s not enough room on the property for a pool, so we’re not going to be doing that,” Maguire said.

He added that 15 to 20 employees will be hired upon completion.

Roosevelt County Community Development Corporation President Randy Knudson was excited at the prospect of increased tourism and additional room for anyone visiting for events, but he said he also hopes “it can attract some new restaurateurs and some new businesses to the downtown area.”

Karl Terry, executive director of the Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce, foresaw businesses being attracted to Portales as a result of the new hotel.

“It’ll rub off on the restaurant business, shopping, gas, all the way around. It affects everything that we do: Sales tax, business, it’s gonna provide jobs,” he said.

Terry added that the hotel has long been a dream for Portales residents.

“This is a piece of downtown redevelopment that’s been missing, and it’ll really put the finishing touches on a lot of what the Portales Mainstreet’s done over the past two or three decades. We’re realizing a lot of dreams,” he said.