Latest news with #BarcelonaSuites
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Seventh ‘problem hotel' in seven months shut down in Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The City of Albuquerque has shut down the seventh problem hotel in the last seven months, and the city said it's the biggest one yet. Story continues below Crime: Albuquerque business owner faces murder charge for shooting fleeing shoplifter News: Las Vegas deputy charged with aggravated battery and robbery Business: A downtown Albuquerque shoe shine parlor is still serving patrons after nearly a century Events: What's happening around New Mexico May 30-June 5? Kirtland Air Fiesta and more When you walk into the court inside the Barcelona Suites near Lomas Blvd. and Louisiana Blvd., you find a well-kept space that used to host large events like proms and graduations. But city officials said the individual rooms in the hotel tell a completely different story. And they claim the owners were being deceptive. 'This place was drug-infested and crime ridden and full of all the problems that we see in Albuquerque, and it was all for this neighborhood being run out of this hotel,' said Mayor Tim Keller. Code enforcement found violations in nearly all 163 rooms at the hotel. They found various plumbing issues, electrical hazards, fire code violations, and unsanitary conditions, like mold, infestations of bed bugs, cockroaches, and pigeons. In the past year, APD responded to 151 calls for service and made nine arrests at the hotel. 'Just to give you an example, we've had three shootings resulting in injuries in the last year. One took place right outside the back of the hotel. Individuals were seen doing drug transactions at the back window. There was some sort of dispute, one individual was seen running east in the neighborhood, at which point another individual chased him down and shot him,' said Southeast Area Commander Josh Richards, Albuquerque Police Department. The units were being improperly used for long-term stays, with some tenants staying several years. The tenants of the Barcelona Suites were being charged rates ranging from $280 to $1,025 per month, and in some cases, both cash and the city's housing vouchers. The mayor said 68 people living in the hotel were rehoused by Albuquerque Community Safety. The city said the property owners are currently out of state, but they face a strict timeline to get the building back up to code. Two pets were voluntarily surrendered by their owners. Three others were taken into protective custody until the owners can secure appropriate housing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Barcelona Suites closed by city, 68 residents forced to relocate
May 30—Barcelona Suites hotel has hosted countless proms and visitors to the nearby fairgrounds over its decades in Northeast Albuquerque. But for the last four years, it's been 76-year-old Virginia Harkes' home for about $700 per month. That ended Friday when city officials kicked everyone out and shut down the hotel. "I'm here all by myself," Harkes told the Journal as her family packed away her things and moved them into a rented truck. "My kids are all working. I have no ride. I need to pack. I got stuff, but I wouldn't know which way to go." Harkes was one of 68 long-term residents swept up in the city's latest closure of hotels deemed problematic. At a news conference, Mayor Tim Keller said the once-esteemed establishment had become "drug-infested and crime-ridden and full of all the problems that we see in Albuquerque." The Barcelona Suites, in the 900 block of Louisiana NE, just north of Lomas, is the seventh lodging establishment shut down by the city as part of the crackdown. Keller hosted a news conference Friday in the sweltering lobby of the hotel. There was no air conditioning, officials said, because the system was clogged with pigeon carcasses. Keller ticked off a list of some of the conditions: "Toilets don't flush, overflowing with waste. Waste in bathrooms, bedbugs, fentanyl everywhere, stolen goods stored in rooms throughout this facility. "That's what this place was. It was a nest for the worst of the worst in Albuquerque." For residents like Harkes, a notice of closure came approximately 24 hours before they had to vacate. The city stated that officials had been working with the properties' Texas-based owners since April 2021. They made almost no progress, Keller said, adding that it appeared ownership sought to keep the facade of a respectable business while problems festered within. "The facade on Louisiana looks pretty good. It looks like it's the same as it always has been; that could not be more opposite than what was happening inside this place," Keller said. Jeremy Keiser, deputy director of the city's Planning Department, said the decision to force people out stemmed from a review of the building's condition. He said the parking garage below the building had concrete pillars with significant damage. He added that many of the 163 rooms had issues with sewage, electricity and heating. Albuquerque Police Department Commander Josh Richards, who leads the Southeast Area Command, said Barcelona Suites was the site of many arrests as well. "We've had three shootings with injuries in the last year," Richards said. "One took place right outside the back of the hotel." Over the last year, the city reported 151 calls for service at Barcelona Suites, including 10 incidents involving assault or battery, 30 disturbances, 29 suspicious persons or vehicles, 10 family disputes and nine arrests. But not everyone or everything at the hotel was tied to criminal activity. The 68 residents in long-term living situations were spread across 41 households, said Jodie Esquibel, director of the Albuquerque Community Safety department. The city supplied vouchers to 30 of the households. The rest were able to lean on family or had other means of housing, Esquibel said. Harkes was one of the recipients of a voucher. She was planning to stay at a nearby hotel for a week. Harkes' daughter, Jeannie Delaware, said the biggest problem with her mother's eviction was what might come next. "She liked the rent," Delaware said. "It was to where she can afford it. But now, it's going to be like $1,000. And for what?"
