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Despite being struck down by the City Council in August, plans to renovate Vagabond Inn are under way.
Allen Sigmon Real Estate Group developer Lance Sigmon, whose plans for the renovations were denied after the UNM and the Lomas del Cielo-Clayton Heights Neighborhood Association won an appeal for the project, said the current zoning permit for the Vagabond Inn allows him to re-establish it as a hotel.
The Vagabond Inn is located near the intersection of University and Gibson boulevards. The inn was recently stripped of wiring, and has been a rundown building for years.
Sigmon said the zoning permit that the City Council overturned pushed for the construction of a residential area, 25 percent of which would have been reserved for commercial purposes. But he said the building’s existing SU1 zoning code, the zoning code for hotels and motels, means that he can convert the building back to its original function.
“The hotel zoning code is more flexible than for residential zoning uses,” he said. “We are going to use the lot for an extended-stay room concept. It’s going to be very high-tech and innovative.”
According to Sigmon, the extended-stay hotel will provide housing to visitors for a longer period of time compared to normal hotels, although it will still let in short-term visitors. He said he expects visitors to stay for at least a month, which makes the hotel comparable to a residential area.
Sigmon said the company put a fence around the property Oct. 9 to clean up the lot.
Neighborhood association President Lee Graham said the association is not enthusiastic about the new plans, although he said he knew about the existing permit for the property before the association won its appeal to the City Council.
“The neighborhood association is obviously disappointed with the decision, as we were really hoping for a commercial center for the area,” he said.
Graham said he spoke to Sigmon about the project, and that Sigmon is determined to push through with it. But Graham said Sigmon still does not have a permit to officially start the renovation.
“All they’re doing right now is cleanup,” he said. “No permits are issued for the property for any construction. (Sigmon) has not submitted any consistent documents to get that permit.”
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In order to get a permit for construction, Graham said Sigmon should submit clear architectural blueprints of his plans to the city’s planning department.
But Sigmon said that because he is making use of the original zoning permit of Vagabond Inn, the City Council has “no jurisdiction over what we’re doing right now.” He said the neighborhood association assumed wrongly that he would totally withdraw his plans to renovate the property.
“They went into an impression that when we lost the appeal, we’re not going to follow through,” he said.
Sigmon said that when his company surveyed 120 residents in the area, 84 percent of neighbors were in favor of the change. He said that when he learned about UNM’s plans to demolish the rundown building and put a shopping center in the area, he met with President Frank to discuss UNM’s plans.
Sigmon said Frank is already aware of the project and that the UNM president was “very kind and appreciative” about it.
Sigmon said that because the 45 acres of land around Vagabond Inn remain untouched by the University, he believes UNM does not have plans to develop the lots.
“You don’t see UNM breaking ground into it, so obviously UNM doesn’t have any plans,” he said. “There is no demand for commercial spaces.”
Sigmon said the renovation will cost around $5 million. He said his company is currently in the design phase of the project.
Graham said the neighborhood association still looks forward to a commercial center in the area, although the association does not have any concrete plans to appeal the current project, because it is too early in the process for them to create plans. He said the association cannot do anything about the project at this time, but he doesn’t completely reject the idea of converting the Vagabond Inn back into a hotel.
“Personally, I am not opposed to him renovating it as a hotel because it’s what the original purpose was,” he said. “If he keeps it as a hotel, I certainly welcome him to the neighborhood.”
