Durango residents know it as the Hotel de Los Remedios, precisely because of its location on Cerro de Los Remedios, but the reality is that this building, which was built in the 1990s in one of the upper parts of the capital, has never had a name. And it never finished its construction, nor was it opened or put into operation. Why?
The business owners behind this project made a multimillion-dollar investment, which is not known in detail because it is a private investment. However, what is known is why it was abandoned and never put into operation.
“Construction of this building began in the early 1990s on Cerro de Los Remedios, in an irregular manner. And the fundamental problem of why it wasn’t completed—because the building is finished but can’t be put into operation—is due to the lack of drinking water,” city chronicler Javier Guerrero Romero told El Sol de Durango.
In other words, the business owners never considered the possibility that a water and drainage permit would be required for their large investment. And this permit was not granted because, although the city’s water tanks are located on Cerro de los Remedios, they are at a level much lower than the hotel.
The water tanks are located on Avenida Universidad, on the slopes leading to the stadium and the Prepa Diurna (Day High School); even the large tanks didn’t exist; there was only a single concrete tank. The other two small tanks that Cerro de los Remedios has for the city are at the height of the Flag Monument. And just a little further toward Guadiana Park is the famous Virón tank, the first one installed on Cerro de Los Remedios.
According to the chronicler, when the Los Remedios subdivision was built in 1972-1974, an elevated tank was also built behind the church, which was designed to meet the demand of the houses that were going to be built in that settlement. Considering the subdivision’s occupancy rate, the number of homes and expected residents,
This tank was currently supplied by pumping from the old tank; it is exclusively for the purpose of providing domestic drinking water service to the residents of Los Remedios.
“Starting the hotel would mean that practically the entire tank would be used for them. Due to the size of the hotel, it would occupy almost two-thirds of the population of Cerro de Los Remedios.”
Then, when they were denied access to water, the business owners filed an injunction, and were denied again because it was affecting the residents’ rights, “the injunction was not granted.”
“Finally, the construction was halted, because it has been rented out on occasions as a party hall. On one occasion, it was temporarily rented out as offices, but still, the problem they have is the drinking water.”
Javier Guerrero Romero explains that as a party hall, it does have a very beautiful area, with attractive viewing platforms, that function as such, but there’s nothing beyond that.
In addition, an additional problem arose that they hadn’t considered, but that the new municipal regulations establish: the issue of parking, which doesn’t exist.
“So, although it would solve the water problem, it would be difficult to solve the parking problem. It was an interesting project that was undertaken and was attractive in terms of tourism development in the city, but it was a poorly planned project, and as a result, it ended up being a bare metal project because the building is finished. It’s obviously not equipped, it has no furniture, but it was a very large investment made by the owners.”
Because of these prohibition errors, surely on the part of the builders, it was easy for them to think that, since it was a building of this nature, they would be quickly granted permits. But the truth is that, since the 1990s, the City Council has been very careful not to grant permits where none exist, precisely to avoid the problem of a shortage of drinking water.
And the legends…
When asked about the legends surrounding this place, Javier Guerrero said that it was a family who promoted this project; and there are many stories about it.
“…the reality is that it was left unfinished due to the lack of potable water and drainage facilities, and now due to an additional problem: parking. That’s the reality of the building, and from then on, we love to tell a lot of stories.”
And he recalled that it has even been said to have been infested with scorpions, but while it is indeed a scorpion-infested area, it’s also true that the fumigations work very well.
What will happen to the hotel?
“It will hardly be able to operate as a hotel if the owners don’t make a large investment to supply water. They would need to build a large elevated tank, but first they would need to obtain authorization, build the water supply line, and obtain approval from AMD, because in any case, they would have to consider the availability of potable water.”
Source: oem
