Owner of Gateway Hotel says repairs will take 3 months

It was officially condemned in March, but Wednesday a partial-owner and lien holder said he’s not giving up on the Gateway Hotel.

“I kept it clean and everything,” said former Gateway Hotel tenant David Jewedd. “They said I had the one of the best rooms there. All of a sudden I’m kicked out. I don’t get any rent back. Nothing.”

When the EL Paso Fire Department kick out David Jewedd and about 40 residents early March, officials said the Gateway Hotel posed an immediate danger.

“The living conditions there…,” Jewedd trailed off, with a grimace on his face.

Water damage, exposed wires, the sprinkler system didn’t work and appliances leaking carbon monoxide were just a few of the code violations that led the city to condemn it. Many believed the best bet for the building was to demolish it.

But advocates in the historical community say the building is worth saving, not just because of it’s history, nut how it can be used as an economic driver for the future.

The gateway hotel was originally built in 1904, but gained extra significance in the eyes of the historical community when it was remodeled by Henry Trost, to become the Gateway Hotel in 1927. It was one in a series of five hotels in the region, built in the 1920s and 30’s to spur tourism in west Texas and southern New Mexico.

But three months later, our crews from lien holder and partial owner Howard Yun.He says he will board up the windows while repairing the Gateway, a process that he estimates will be done by fall. But when asked about his former tenants and their lost rent he said it was not his responsibility.

When asked if after the Gateway was repaired, if he’d consider moving back, Jewedd replied no.

The fire department said there is no date for an opening, and any opening would be subject to inspection.