The iconic 82-year-old Evelyn Motel: a reprieve from the dozer and the wrecking ball

The old Evelyn Motel, a San Bernardo art deco landmark that has withstood the roller coaster of Laredo’s tourist economy for 82 years, was dealt a reprieve from demolition at the September 7 City Council meeting.

Though the 1.67-acre campus of the motor court and restaurant, which were built in 1938, are in District VIII — which is represented by Council Member Alyssa Cigarroa — the aggressive push for a zoning change to allow the construction of a private bus terminal on the site was led by District IV Council Member Albert Torres.

Cigarroa is opposed to the zone change and a bus terminal in proximity to homes and schools.

Realtor Irene Antu read a statement from the current owners of the Evelyn Motel, Antonio and Graciela Gonzalez, regarding  their age, illness, and the financial need to sell the property. Antu’s narrative included detail of the degraded condition of the property that has been on the market for eight years and is currently leased to a tenant, a property that she said has invited prostitution and drug trafficking, armed robberies, and a murder.

Realtor Irene Antu

 Antu directed comments to Cigarroa about doing what was “right” for District VIII, “right” presumably being to support the zoning change that would allow the Gonzalez to come out from the financial burden of their property by selling to a company that wanted to build a bus terminal, an effort that would destroy most of the old tourist court.

Continuing to read from the Gonzalezes’ statement, Antu called Cigarroa’s opposition to the bus station “politically motivated.”

Antu told Cigarroa that the $3 million bus terminal would beautify District VIII and that it would bring improvements and prosperity to that part of the district. She reminded Cigarroa that she should support those who had supported her.

Who, Antu asked, had alerted a columnist from The Laredo Morning Times to the ongoing story or the Webb County Heritage Foundation to the fate of the Evelyn Motel — as though journalists don’t write news of local interest and historic preservationists don’t rise to saving a building eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Gonzalezes were before Council on Sept. 7 to appeal the July 15, 2021 denial of a zoning change by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Planning and Zoning Department’s non-support of the change from B-3/B-1 (Commercial Business District/Limited Business District) to B-4 (Highway Commercial Business District).

The public hearing to appeal the P&Z zoning decision seemed to go off the rails as Antonio Gonzalez often addressed only Council Member Cigarroa with digressions that became increasingly personal.

Dist. VIII Council Member Alyssa Cigarroa

Gonzalez, who condescended to Cigarroa, called her “mija” and “mama” as he reiterated much of what realtor Antu had read into the public record — that he has been trying to sell the motel for the last eight years and has now found a viable buyer who wants to build a private bus terminal for travel north and south of Laredo.

“I’ve been there all my life. You’ve been there how many months as a City Council woman, and you’re doing fine. I was born there, mija,” Gonzalez said.

Cigarroa told Gonzalez she understood the burdens he faced and that she had empathy for their financial and personal losses. She said she was clear that she did not believe a bus terminal was a good fit for the residential areas surrounding the Evelyn Motel.

She said she had spoken to neighborhood residents, who though they had received the City’s notice of a proposed zone change, did not know of a proposed bus terminal that would present exhaust from idling busses, noise, and light pollution.

Gonzalez told her, “Look at the people you went to talk to. They are renters. Some live there, but have they done anything with their homes? If you so much care for those people have you said to them, ‘I’m going to put $50,000 in repairs to your house?’”

At one point Council Member Torres reminded Gonzalez that Cigarroa be accorded respect.

Cigarroa read from two documents. One was a letter from Margarita Araiza, executive director of the Webb County Heritage Foundation. The letter included a petition and 70 signatures of District VIII residents opposed to a zoning change and a bus terminal at the Evelyn Motel site. The petitioners cited pedestrian and bike safety, increased traffic, noise pollution, limited job creation, and lack of consistency with the City’s Comprehensive Plan.  Araiza wrote that approval of the proposed zoning change would open the door to the destruction of the Evelyn Motel.  She called the Evelyn “one of the few remaining examples of mid-century modern ‘travel’ architecture left on what was once a bustling interstate corridor that welcomed thousands of visitors to our community.”

Cigarroa also read a letter from Gregory Smith, National Register Coordinator for the Texas Historical Commission (THC). Smith wrote of the THC’s familiarity with the Evelyn Motel as “one of the best preserved roadside lodgings of the postwar era in Laredo and possibly all of South Texas.” Smith wrote that the Evelyn Motel was determined eligible through the THC’s 2016 Meridian Highway Study to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Further, he wrote, if the motel were rehabilitated for commercial use following the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, there would be substantial state and federal tax credits available.

Except for Cigarroa, Torres, and the random maunderings of District VII Council Member Vanessa Perez — who offered Gonzalez and bus terminal developer Marty Due the option of a conditional use permit rather than a zoning change — no other Council members spoke for or against the project that would, except for signage and facades, largely destroy the iconic motor court.

Cigarroa’s motion to uphold the zoning change denial was met with silence until District VI Council Member Dr. Marte Martinez uncharacteristically supported Cigarroa with a second.

Gonzalez interrupted the motion as he began rifling through his wallet to show Cigarroa that he had her father’s phone number. Mayor Pete Saenz tried to rein him in.

Antonio Gonzalez

Cigarroa, Dr. Martinez, District V Council Member Ruben Gutierrez, and District III Council Member Mercurio Martinez  voted for the motion. Torres, Perez, and Council Member Vidal Rodriguez voted against.

“So it didn’t go through?” asked Gonzalez from the public podium.

Torres addressed Gonzalez, telling him that to come back to Council after a double denial would require him to harness six votes to prevail.

Dist. IV Council Member Albert Torres

“I think you get the sentiment of the Council that you all are wasting, really, your time and the time of the investors that have come from Dallas twice. I am very sorry,” he said, referencing that San Bernardo is still a state corridor. “I don’t think it’s going to happen. Maybe you want to sit down to talk to Ms. Cigarroa again,” Torres concluded.“No, I don’t,” Gonzalez answered.

Dist. VII Council Member Vanessa Perez

Dist. VI Council Member Marte Martinez

The prospective buyer of the Evelyn Motel property is Juan Vasquez of Tornado and El Expreso bus lines.

WCHF Letter – Zoning Change

Texas Historical Commission – Evelyn Motel