I' >i ? if n I / -j.« k - r 1 A3. BUOiJMOUi^ New f fE*§0 -k> B -Tcw.'-i Wn. t '* LESO IO GQASriHG RlC-l In English La Posada means "the inn" and, wow, what an inn! La Posada was built by New Mexico native Conrad Hilton in 1939 at a cost of $700,000. It originally had 160 rooms and could boast then of being the tallest building and the first with air conditioning in New Mexico. The hotel was placed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1984 and is the last remain- ing historic hotel in Albuquerque. In 2000, the United States Environmental Protection Agency r(EPA) awarded $500,000 to the City of Albuquerque and $500,000 to Bernalillo County in the form of a Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grant. The City and County combined their funds, with the City as the grant administrator, and the County office assist- ing. Their combined efforts would be the catalyst for planning reme- diation of the old hotel. The Goodman Realty Group purchased the property at an auction for $4 million in 2005. Refurbishing the hotel from the inside out was costly, and Goodman Realty Group readily took advantage of the City's RLF Program with a ten-year, interest free loan of $220,000 to remove lead-based paint and asbestos-containing material (ACM) and assurance that the cleanup would be done to protect human health and the environment. The asbestos abatement project included removal of hot water tank insulation pipes and fittings in the basement, laundry room, offices, storage and hallways next to the main mechani- cal room. Approximately 120 ft of ACM floor tile and mastic (glue used for tile adherence) was removed in front of elevators on Floors 3-10 as well as the removal of eight doors. Cost of the remodel and restoration project was approximately $30 million. Because this was a complete renovation, the developers decided to pursue the Leader- ship in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. This is a prestigious recog- nition governed by the Green Building Council, Inc (GBCI). The GBCI looks at the building in terms of first costs, instead of add-ons. This is a more environmentally correct approach to new construction by incorporating energy and environmental design for sustainability. The LEED rating system addresses these major areas: site selection; efficient use of water; en- ergy and atmosphere; materials and resources; indoor environ- mental air quality; and innovative design. The hotel reopened October 1, 2009 as the Andaluz and expects to have new boasting rights as the only LEED certi- fied hotel in New Mexico and one of the very few in the country. It will also hold the distinction of being the only hotel on the National Register of Historic Places that is LEED-certified. This four-star, historic boutique hotel consumed fewer resources in its construc- tion, uses less energy, and minimizes the impact on its surrounding environment and infrastructure. For more information, please con- tact Darin Sand, sand@qoodmanrealty.com or 505.881.0100, ------- |