Residents urge preservation of El Pueblo Motel; Babbitt House sale under negotiation
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Summary
Public commenters urged the commission to support preservation: a resident proposed adaptive reuse of the El Pueblo Motel for affordable housing and a museum, and David Hayward gave an update that an offer to acquire the David Babbitt House is under negotiation with All Thrive and that the property will be pursued for National Register and local landmark listing.
At the Feb. 18 Heritage Preservation Commission meeting, two members of the public urged action to save local historic properties.
Phil Skandura, a Flagstaff resident of 20 years, told commissioners the El Pueblo Motel is at risk of private redevelopment and proposed restoring the motel's historic exterior while converting the interior into affordable housing units and adding standalone housing at the rear. "The city can purchase and sell property to meet critical community needs, including affordable housing," Skandura said, and asked the commission to support forwarding the proposal to City Council and placing it on a future agenda.
David Hayward reported that an offer to the current owner for the David Babbitt House (the former Saint Mary's/Catholic school site) is in active negotiations with All Thrive and that demolition has been postponed. Hayward said the plan is to list the building on the National Register, pursue a local landmark listing, and use federal historic rehabilitation tax credits where eligible.
The commission approved a procedural motion to add topic descriptions to public comment entries in meeting minutes. Commissioner Alec Overman moved to add topics for public comments to the minutes and approve the meeting minutes with Chair Westheimer's correction; Jeanne Stevens seconded. The motion passed unanimously in the roll call recorded during the meeting.
