Several prominent buildings in Mérida’s Centro have been listed for sale. Asking prices range from MX$15 to 300 million (or approximately US$825,000 to $16.5 million).
One such property is the former site of a popular auto parts business across from Parque Santiago. The distinctive and sprawling three-story Torre building could be converted to offices, a hotel, a museum, or an art gallery — which is what it is now. From the windows facing Calle 59 is the most spectacular view of the park and church bell tower. Featuring an elevator and parking for over 35 vehicles, the Torre building is listed for the equivalent of $US3.7 million.
The Holiday Inn Express near Parque Santa Lucia Park can be yours for 300 million pesos or US$16 million. The former Hotel Mérida — a 1940s tower of rooms built over an even older residential casona — is on one of the downtown’s busiest intersections. It was abandoned for years before opening under its present name in 2017. The listing emphasizes that it’s the only chain hotel in Merida’s historic center and comes with operating permits and a franchise license. A popular coffee bar is off the lobby.
The equally historic Hotel Misíon Panamericana Merida hotel, also built over an old mansion, is listed for US$15 million. The Mejorada landmark was built in 1962 and last renovated in 2000.
The more contemporary Misol-Ha, a 70-room hotel with a pool and 20 parking spaces on Calle 60 near the US Consulate, is available for US$13.5 million. One of the newest commercial buildings of this scale on the market, Misol-Ha was built in 2016.
Other properties for sale
Wabi, a former three-story clothing and textile store that opened in 1973 on the corner of Calle 63 and 52, for US$1.5 million. Its construction was part of a modernization trend that sacrificed countless more elegant buildings in the Centro Histórico. More recently it was abandoned and sits as a massive white elephant in Mejorada. Commenters on social media deplored its blight but had fond memories of buying school clothes and soccer uniforms.
The long-shuttered Rosales supermarket building a block off the Paseo de Montejo is available for just under US1 million. The one-story corner property behind the Hotel Conquistador is “ideal for a boutique hotel or restaurant,” the listing notes.
The building that housed Casa Achach, a home goods store on Calle 65 and 60 that closed in 2018 after 85 years, is listed for US$3.2 million. The family-owned shop was in the very heart of the Centro business district. It was founded by Domingo Achach, an immigrant from Iraq. Eventually he handed it down to his son, José Luis Achach, who ran it for 70 years. He was forced to close it a few years before his death in 2022.
With information from Diario de Yucatán
