A visitors center with no visitors: When will the taxpayer-funded project open?

Drivers headed east on I-40 into New Mexico this summer should be forgiven for thinking they can stay for the night at 12300 Central Ave. SW. After all, a large neon “Mountain Lodge” sign at the address greets those motoring down old Route 66 near Nine Mile Hill. The roadtrippers would also see that a shiny, new, two-story building with beautiful views of Albuquerque and the Sandia Mountains advertises a taproom where they might stretch and enjoy a cold beer.

But they’ll be disappointed to discover there’s no lodging — just the neon sign — and a locked gate with no explanation at the West Central Route 66 Visitors Center. 

It’d be challenging to come up with a similar taxpayer-funded project — at $13.6 million and counting — that has taken as long to be realized and has come with as much frustration and scrutiny. Just months ago, although the center has never officially opened to the public, its website claimed it was operating Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (The hours have since been removed from the site).

More input sought

Now, after years of community meetings and feedback on the center, Albuquerque City Councilor Klarissa Peña — who has been involved with the project for more than a decade — wants more. 

She has introduced legislation to be heard at the City Council’s June 17 meeting that would establish a Route 66 Visitors Center commission. 

The commission would consist of seven voting members and two nonvoting advisory members to be confirmed by the City Council. It would include Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, two city councilors, four representatives designated by the West Central Community Development Group, an advisory member from Visit Albuquerque and an advisory member from the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce.

“The Route 66 Visitors Center is an asset that the entire community has a stake in, and the entire community should have direct input in its preservation,” Peña said in a statement to City Desk ABQ on June 7 after multiple requests for an interview. “This is a project our community has envisioned for decades, and now, as the Route 66 Centennial Celebration approaches in 2026, the rich culture of our community will be front and center on the longest urban stretch of ‘The Mother Road,’ and the only place in the nation where the route crosses itself.” 

She added that if the legislation passes, the commission “will ensure that we make the most of this opportunity.”

The long wait

The idea for the center was first discussed about 30 years ago, and for most of its extended timeline, it was one well-received by Albuquerque residents and the city and county officials who secured funding for it. But patience has worn thin. 

Over the years, officials have repeatedly touted the center’s potential as a catalyst for tourism-related business, West Central revitalization and a community-driven jewel located on the Mother Road. There have been countless meetings, a site dedication and a groundbreaking — all where officials took time to congratulate one another on the project and its future significance to the residents of West Central-area neighborhoods and the city at large. 

“I promised to carry out the community’s vision when I became a city councilor and the visitors center has been one of my main priorities,” said Peña, at the center’s site dedication. “It will help stimulate private and public investment, create jobs, and bring greater prosperity to the Westside and all of Albuquerque.”

Construction began in March 2021 and a ribbon-cutting ceremony — marking the opening — took place in September 2022. At the ribbon-cutting, officials said they expected the doors to open a few months later. Almost two years later, the doors have never officially opened. 

City now in the forefront

Both the city and Bernalillo County contributed funds to the center, which includes a 21,000-square-foot interior with a gift shop, event and meeting spaces, taproom, Route 66 museum and coworking spaces. The exterior includes a neon sign park and a large amphitheater. The nonprofit West Central Community Development Group was brought in as a partner on the project and given a $500,000 contract to operate and manage the venue. Peña’s husband, Johnny Peña, is a board member and the group’s past president. 

Now an intergovernmental agreement that placed oversight of the center on the city and the county has ended. In February, Bernalillo County Commissioners voted unanimously to transfer ownership and responsibility exclusively to the city under the purview of the Arts & Culture Department.

After the transfer, Peña told KRQE News 13 that the West Central Development Group felt the city was in a better position to operate and manage the center.

“At this point, the board really feels like maybe they don’t have the capacity to carry it out to what it really needs to be and should be,” she said.

In addition, Peña said the transfer made sense because the county was having a hard time securing licensing to bring businesses like taprooms and breweries into the facility.

“The city knows how to operate a visitors center; I mean they do the Albuquerque Museum, they do Explora; I think they’re more equipped and better poised to be able to just ensure that it becomes what the community has envisioned it to be so many years ago,” she told KRQE.

Opening date: ?

Meanwhile, officials from the city’s Arts & Culture department said it is assessing the needs of the center — including use of the Mountain Lodge and taproom signs — and are brainstorming ideas for initiatives and programming. Spokesman Diego Lucero said an opening timeline is dependent on budgeting. He expects the department to know what city funds it has to work with for fiscal year 2025 sometime in July. 

Lucero said part of the assessment involves facility maintenance.

“This includes working with our IT team to install the city network, which is necessary to control many functions like lighting and outdoor integration, as well as allowing us to put in our own security system,” he said. “Despite the building being relatively new, we have encountered a few things that require repairs and maintenance.”

Shelle Sanchez, the Arts & Culture director, said she’d like to see the center open as soon as possible.

“We agree that establishing a public board is an important part of ensuring that there is community input from all across our city,” she said in a June 7 statement to City Desk ABQ. “We are reviewing the legislation to evaluate how the proposal is aligned with other public advisory boards in the Department of Arts & Culture.”