July 11, 2013–LAS CRUCES >> A new 56-room hotel with a 24-hour diner is scheduled to be built in Santa Teresa and construction could start next month.
Roy Riggs with Lodging Enterprises Inc. said that an Oak Tree Inn hotel and a Penny’s diner will go up near where Union Pacific is building its $400-million intermodel facility. The project started when Union Pacific contacted his company and is still in the early stages.
“We don’t even have blueprints yet,” Riggs said. “We haven’t put it out to bid.”
He said that once construction starts, the project could take six to eight months to complete.
Jerry Pacheco, executive director with the International Business Accelerator, reports that the hotel will be built on the airport side of Mallory Metals on Airport Road in the Santa Teresa Business Center.
“This is an exciting project, as Santa Teresa will finally be getting some hospitality services,” he wrote in an email to members of the Border Industrial Association.
Wichita, Kan.-based Lodging Enterprises reports that it was founded in 1984 and is “now the leading provider of lodging facilities for railroad employees in the United States.”
Oak Tree Inn’s website — oaktreeinn.com — reports that it has 33 current hotels,
including one in Vaughn. The Penny’s Diner locations are open 24 hours and have a ’50s atmosphere.
“We have agreements with many railroads nationally,” Riggs said.
He said that hotel has room to expand another 20 rooms.
