A one-story historic structure built in1929 and serving as the clubhouse for the Las Cruces Golf Course may soon be demolished.
The building, located at 2700 N. Main Street and designed by legendary architect Henry Trost, was closed just over a decade ago when the course itself closed. Built at a reported cost of $18,000, the clubhouse for decades hosted any number of private parties and civic meetings.
A proposed demolition of the structure is part of a long-simmering project to redevelop the larger site.
But now members of the community, along with the Dona Ana Arts Council and the Dona Ana County Historical Society, are launching an effort to save the structure.
While acknowledging that the building has not been officially recognized by the National Historic Register as a historic structure, Troy Ainsworth, the City of Las Cruces’ historic preservation specialist, said the clubhouse was nevertheless not without value.
In a public meeting on the matter, according to the Las Cruces Sun News, Ainsworth noted that the structure could be classified as a cultural property under the city’s Historic Preservation Ordinance, remarking: “This building means something to the people.”
The partial owner of the site, NAI 1st Valley, also of Las Cruces, has expressed an interest in preserving the building if a proposal can be devised that will fit in with the overall mixed-use plans for the property.
An additional owner is the Tetrad Property Group of Omaha, Nebraska.
Earlier this year members of the Las Cruces City Council gave their approval to a rezoning of the site, allowing for the construction of the mixed-use project.
The rezoning was in keeping with what is known as the Apodaca Blueprint, a document that lays out a long-range plan for the 730-acre site, allowing for the eventual construction of both residential and commercial space.
By Garry Boulard
