Sun, Jul 06, 2008
 Steve Rendon and Hilary Eshelman bought La Siesta Motel two years ago. Eshelman says she envisions the 13-room establishment "as a boutique hotel." David Sanders / arizona daily star
More Photos (9):
        
Xentel Expanding call center. New Hiring Bonus! Trades/Construction Baker Brothers Plumbing Dry Wallers Trades/Construction Pioneer Landscaping Yard Person/Loader Operator Production and Manufacturing Pioneer Landscaping Crushing Crew Driver/Transportation CPC Southwest Materials Drivers Trades/Construction Pioneer Landscaping Yard Person/Loader Operator Driver/Transportation RENZENBERGER ROAD AND YARD VAN DRIVERS AccentOpinion
Bonnie Henry: Motel makeover on Miracle MileTucsonan refurbishing decades-old La Siesta
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.15.2008
"What!!!??? Are you out of your mind?"
That was pretty much the reaction of Hilary Eshelman's friends when they found out she'd bought a rundown motel on North Oracle Road, once part of the famed Miracle Mile.
"They asked me if I had a death wish. Others thought I had become a slum lord or a madam running a whorehouse," says Eshelman from inside La Siesta's comfy office.
Outside, a velvety lawn occupies what was once nothing but dirt. Saltwater now sloshes in the old pool, also refurbished.
And every one of the 13 units is being spiffed up, with a nod to the present — free Wi-Fi — and the past — rotary phones, and pastel tiles in the bathrooms.
"I envision this more as a boutique hotel," says Eshelman, who bought the 67-year-old motel two years ago with business partner Steve Rendon.
A Tucson native who moved to L.A., Rendon and friends wanted to invest in Tucson property when he contacted Eshelman, a Tucson Realtor.
Meanwhile, Eshelman was trying to talk husband Andrew into buying one of her listings — the motel.
Now 33, Eshelman remembers selling popcorn at the Temple of Music and Art, which her parents once owned. "I was 10 years old. It made me really love Downtown."
After showing Rendon "a bunch of little houses," she took him by the motel. "I fell for it, but it needed a lot of work," says Rendon, who along with Eshelman bought the place for $400,000.
Up until a few months ago, they kept the same low rates as they worked to refubish the motel. "We had some real interesting customers," says Eshelman.
That all changed after roadwork was completed at the Oracle/Main/Drachman intersection last fall that shifted the traffic circle to a T-design.
They upped the rates from $25 to $65 a night, accepting only credit cards. That got rid of the drug addicts and prostitutes.
"There were whiskey bottles between the mattresses and the box springs," says Rendon, who currently lives on the property.
The police have been "very cooperative," says Eshelman. So have the various neighborhood groups she's met with. "They've been very receptive."
And the timing couldn't be better. For the motel falls inside an area being studied for improvement by the city.
Known as the Oracle Area Revitalization Plan, it's a process working to improve the 2.6-square-mile area stretching between Miracle Mile and Speedway, and Fairview and Stone avenues.
"It's obviously an area that has a lot of need," says Rebecca Ruopp, principal planner with the city. Neighborhood meetings are now being held, and a formal public review is planned for next year.
Recognizing the history of the neighborhood, particulary Oracle Road/Miracle Mile, is also part of the plan, and historic preservationist and consultant Demion Clinco has been hired by the city to research and assess the area.
"Miracle Mile is just such a cool place," says Clinco, 27, a Tucson native who's walked the strip from Ghost Ranch Lodge on West Miracle Mile to Stone and Drachman.
What particularly interests him are the old motels that still dot the street, motels he calls "broken palaces."
On Saturday, May 24, Clinco will give two PowerPoint presentations on the history of the area, while local historian Ken Scoville gives an overview during two shuttle tours.
La Siesta will certainly be on the tour. Built in 1941, it has, to her knowledge, been in business ever since, says Eshelman.
"We hear stories of how famlies stayed here for three weeks while they were looking for a house," she adds.
Thanks to a new Web site (www.lasiestatucson.com), many of the motel's current customers are international, says Rendon.
"We also get a lot of Mexican nationals shopping, and also travelers who get off of I-10 because of the construction. They'll get off at Prince, come down Oracle and see our sign."
That sign, he says, also draws the locals who just drive up to take pictures. "We tell them sure, show your friends," says Rendon, who welcomes the word-of-mouth publicity.
Eshelman also does her part by hosting barbecues at the motel for friends and neighbors.
"Now my friends come down here and they start gushing," she says with more than a hint of satisfaction. "They all say, 'Oh, it's so cute.' "
● Bonnie Henry's column also appears Sundays in ¡Vamos! Reach her at 434-4074 or at bhenry@azstarnet.com, or write to 3295 W. Ina Road, Suite 125, Tucson, AZ 85741. Bonnie's latest book ● To order Bonnie Henry's "Tucson Memories," call 573-4417. It costs $39.95 plus tax, shipping and handling.
|
16 Comments on this story