Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>Hazen also plans to improve landscaping \u2013 even tearing out some asphalt to replace with grass and a few trees.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re working on a paint scheme for the exterior. We want it to look like a little village,\u201d Hazen said, adding he is planning to add a mural at the end of one of the buildings on the property.<\/p>\n
Upgrades also have included enhanced security, with 45 new cameras and new lighting installed throughout the inn\u2019s grounds, said Spanish Trails Inn Property Manager Vikki Valdez.<\/p>\n
John Hazen, the new owner of Spanish Trails Inn & Suites, talks on Wednesday about the changes that are coming to the landscaping and the outside of the buildings.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\u201cWe can see what\u2019s going on around the clock, and if necessary, help the police department,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Hazen, who has been a hotel broker for 35 years, said he\u2019s worked to remove bad tenants from the property.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not playing games. If you mess up, you\u2019re gone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Upgrades to outdoor areas, Valdez said, will include new stairwells and more thoughtful design of space to create sitting areas and small patios.<\/p>\n
The wifi at Spanish Trails Inn & Suites has been upgraded and 44 security cameras have been added.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>John Griego, who has been in Durango several months after joining his girlfriend, Tracy Yalch, is thankful for the home he\u2019s found at the Spanish Trails Inn & Suites.<\/p>\n
Griego said he and Yalch left Albuquerque, which had become crime-ridden in the area they lived, looking for a better quality of life in Colorado.<\/p>\n
After spending a few months working in Salida, they discovered Durango, and Griego met Hazen at Home Depot, where he had found a job while living out of his truck.<\/p>\n
Hazen was shopping for material for the Spanish Trails remodel, and Griego said he struck up a friendship working with Hazen, who invited him to check out living arrangements at Spanish Trails<\/p>\n
The laundry room at Spanish Trails Inn & Suites has been renovated by John Hazen, the new owner of the motel.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\u201cHe invited us to stay in his establishment. I didn\u2019t have enough money for the first week, and he told me to give what I could now, and we would make up for it later. I told John Hazen my situation, and he offered me a roof to put over my head,\u201d Griego said.<\/p>\n
Griego is impressed with the friendliness of Durango and the resources the community offers to help people struggling economically. He\u2019s also received assistance at Durango Food Bank and at Manna soup kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe community here in Durango is just awesome. The resources in Durango are incredible if you want a hand up and not a hand out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
John Hazen, the new owner of Spanish Trails Inn & Suites, talks about the newly renovated rooms with new microwaves, beds, flooring, refrigerators with side freezers, bathroom fixtures and USB ports to charge electronic devices just to name a few.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>Adriane Anthony, who is doing metalwork at Spanish Trails, met Hazen in the laundry room at Spanish Trails after Volunteers for America shelter provided her money for a week\u2019s stay.<\/p>\n
Now, she is renting a house in south Durango with her boyfriend and five kids after initially staying at Spanish Trails, where her wages for her metalwork helped pay for her room.<\/p>\n
Like Griego, Anthony said she was fleeing a big city, Austin, Texas, when she discovered Durango after staying briefly in Pagosa Springs.<\/p>\n
Also like Griego, Anthony said she\u2019s received help in Durango beyond assistance from Hazen and the shelter she found at Spanish Trails.<\/p>\n
Hazen added USB ports to charge electronic devices next to the beds in the newly renovated rooms.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\u201cSt. Mark\u2019s helped us get through tough times, and the schools are great. Our kids love it here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Hazen, she said, not only helped her in finding shelter, but also helped her get a job in Durango.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just a really good dude. He helped me find a job. He\u2019s providing jobs for people who need them,\u201d she said. \u201cI know Spanish Trails is an issue in this town, but it\u2019s been pivotal in helping me.\u201d<\/p>\n
parmijo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nVikki and Ray Valdez are the new general managers at Spanish Trails Inn & Suites in Durango.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"seeks to improve safety and security<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5742,5796,5898,5740,5737,5930,5735,5808,5885],"tags":[168,950,13,28,453,445,614],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-93013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-crime","category-durango","category-frontpage-lead","category-headlines","category-housing-and-urban-planning","category-news","category-newsletter-lead","category-real-estate","tag-crime","tag-durango","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-headlines","tag-housing-and-urban-planning","tag-newsletter-lead","tag-real-estate"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93013"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=93013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}