By Mark Stevens | The Colorado Sun
Giant plastic sheets seal off the hazard zones where asbestos abatement is in full swing. The swimming pool where travelers once lounged is buried under fresh fill. Kitchen appliances, new smoke detectors and media boxes for internet access are being added to each of the 72 rooms in the former roadside inn. Plumbers are fitting new sink drains. A new community room, laundry facility and fitness center are being readied off the main entry. Saws buzz, hammers pound, and a giant Volvo L60H loader kicks up dust as it makes runs to fill the foundation where a new general store will rise.
Two new structures are going up behind this former Best Western motel a mile west of downtown Durango along Colorado 160. They will be home to 24 two-bedroom and 24 three-bedroom apartments, rounding out the complex, which will include another 72 units in the existing building. In all, from property acquisition to renovations and new construction, the project will cost $35.6 million.