Aug. 23 -- A historic trackside hotel in Las Vegas is moving full steam ahead to its next chapter as new owners prepare to take charge.
The Castañeda Hotel -- a two-story, roughly 36,000-square-foot hotel built in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 1898 -- is under contract to be sold to new owners after hitting the market earlier this year, current owner Allan Affeldt told the Journal.
Affeldt, who owns the 22-room hotel alongside his wife, artist Tina Mion, will transfer the property to married couples and local entrepreneurs Dennis and Annette Lucero and Carlos and Patricia Lopez in a sale that will close in November.
"(These are) local families, really deep roots in Las Vegas, so we're really delighted about that," Affeldt said. "It's just time for me to move on to other projects."
Affeldt, a developer and historic preservationist who owns numerous hotels and properties in New Mexico and Arizona, bought the hotel in 2014, along with the Plaza Hotel and several other buildings in Las Vegas.
He and Mion have been visiting New Mexico for more than 20 years, drawn to the state because of its hub of "Harvey Hotels" -- hotels built by Fred Harvey, a mid-19th-century entrepreneur who pioneered a string of hotels and restaurants along the Santa Fe Railway. Harvey has since been referred to as the "Father of Western Hospitality," according to the Denver Public Library.
"A hundred years ago, the Fred Harvey Company was like Hilton or Hyatt or Marriott. It was the first national hotel company in the United States," Affeldt explained. "He was a really big deal."
The Castañeda Hotel is one of two Harvey Hotels in Las Vegas, Affeldt said. It was Harvey's first trackside hotel and the earliest Harvey property built in a Mission Revival style, becoming a "prototype of nearly all future Harvey properties," the hotel website says.
Affeldt was visiting the Montezuma Castle, Las Vegas' other former Harvey Hotel later turned into United World College-USA, when its owners told Affeldt he should restore the Castañeda, which had fallen into disrepair and had been closed for decades. Affeldt was hesitant at first due to the rough condition of the property.
"The building was completely ruined. From the lobby, you could see light two floors up through the attic. It was literally falling apart," Affeldt said.
But something about the property and its history resonated with the owners.
"Eventually, they got me at a weak moment," Affeldt said with a laugh. "I'm interested in historic preservation and economic development. I'm not so much interested in the hotel and restaurant business. What I love is saving these little buildings and putting them back to use."
And that's exactly what he and Mion did. They put millions into property renovations, rebuilding everything from the roof to the second floor to the foundation and installing all new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.
"It's basically a new building in the old shell," Affeldt said.
The hotel reopened for the first time in decades in 2019 and has stayed busy since then, Affeldt said.
Ready to pass the project on to a longer-term operator, the owners listed both the Castañeda Hotel and Plaza Hotel for $3 million and $4.5 million, respectively, Affeldt said. They were hoping to sell them both in one fell swoop, but when the local offer for just the Castañeda came in, it was too good to pass up, Affeldt said.
The Lucero and Lopez families are no strangers to the Castañeda or a transformation project. With backgrounds in electrical and general contracting, Dennis Lucero and Carlos Lopez were a part of the team that renovated and restored the Castañeda. Annette Lucero and Patricia Lopez also work in the contracting businesses.
The group is behind the transformation of another local property -- an early 1900s structure just a block from the Castañeda. They restored and reopened the property as a restaurant and event hall called Buffalo Hall and Coyote Cafe BBQ in 2022.
Inspired by the historical importance of the Castañeda property and the work that Affeldt put into it, the group jumped at the opportunity to purchase it.
"The property is amazing. The money's been spent," Carlos Lopez said. "It's 99% done. Allan did a great job with it."
The main project the group has its sights set on is opening a new restaurant and bar in the Castañeda. The property had a food and beverage operator up until the end of last year, when their lease expired. Affeldt decided not to bring in someone new since he would be placing the property up for sale.
Dennis Lucero said the property's kitchen, bar and dining area are "second to none in Northern New Mexico." The group plans to fill it with offerings that appeal to both locals and visitors. They want it to be a place where everyone feels at home, Patricia Lopez said.
The specific concept and type of offerings are still in the works, but Dennis Lucero said they hope to showcase the area's regional cuisine with local ingredients and talent while tying in the property's history.
The property, built just one mile east of Old Town Las Vegas, has a long and interesting history, including the time it hosted former President Theodore Roosevelt, who was passing through the area during his first Rough Riders Reunion in 1899, Affeldt said.
Affeldt said the property has been featured in numerous films, including "Red Dawn."
The property's history is the "most important thing about the hotel," said Patricia Lopez, who even held her graduation party at the hotel in the '90s. The group hopes to preserve the hotel's historic character while bringing in a fresh air of excitement and liveliness to the space, Annette Lucero added.
"Everybody just says that it's really nice that it's landing in local hands, and we feel really good about that," Carlos Lopez said. "The hotel, it's in everybody's DNA in Las Vegas."
Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Albuquerque Journal. You can reach her at [email protected].