Hotel del Sol’s rebuild is set to begin with a demolition ceremony

Yuma’s long-vacant Hotel del Sol is moving into construction as a multimodal transportation center, but the project is neither a full restoration nor the complete erasure of the historic landmark. City records describe a partial demolition and rebuild. Preservation documents describe a negotiated plan to retain recognizable exterior features and bring selected historic material into the new transit lobby.

The City of Yuma announced a demolition ceremony for Thursday, Oct. 29, at 11 a.m. in the parking lot north of the hotel. The date and time appear in a City announcement distributed through a public-relations syndication service; the City’s own news-release page did not expose the original item during this review. The event is a starting marker for a project already in its preconstruction phase, not evidence that the multimodal center will open soon.

The City’s May 2026 capital-project fact sheet lists a total project budget of $18.61 million. On May 6, the City Council authorized a $17.42 million guaranteed maximum-price construction contract with Core Construction. Those figures describe different things: the fact sheet’s broader project budget and the construction contract are not interchangeable. The Council agenda says grants provide most of the funding, including a $10.6 million federal RAISE grant, $3.6 million in state funding and nearly $3 million in design funding, with a City match. The City bought the property in 2006 using federal transportation funds.

Opened in 1926 as the Hotel Del Ming, the hotel served rail travelers and became part of downtown Yuma’s transportation history. The building sits within the National Register-listed Main Street Historic District and is known for its Spanish Revival arcades, tower and porches. Engineering studies in 2022 identified structural deficiencies. The resulting redesign required federal historic-preservation review because the original proposal’s demolition would adversely affect a historic property.

The preservation agreement did not require the City to keep every wall standing. The National Preservation Partners Network says consultation among the City, the Federal Transit Administration, the State Historic Preservation Office, YCIPTA and the project architect led to a plan that keeps the tower, arcades and porches, while character-defining material from portions to be demolished is to be removed carefully, repaired and reinstalled inside the transit lobby as an exhibit. The City’s 2025 historic-review record likewise calls the work “partial demolition and rebuild.” That distinction matters: some of the building will be reconstructed, and retaining architectural features does not mean the entire original structure survives.

The City’s project scope calls for exterior renovation, seismic and structural work, an ADA-compliant interior and a first-floor build-out. The second and third floors are planned for a future public partnership. A City agenda summary says about one-third of the ground floor would serve transit, with the remaining space available for future commercial or residential use. In May, City officials described a central facility for YCAT, Amtrak, Greyhound and other services, with exhibits about the hotel’s history. The City has not published a firm opening date in the records reviewed; a May television report quoted a City project manager hoping for late 2028 or late 2029.

The City’s September road report said fencing and closures around Gila and Third streets were expected to remain for 12 months. That is a construction disruption residents can see now. The larger test will be whether the project delivers both the promised transportation hub and a legible connection to the building that occupied the site for a century.

Sources

• City FY2026 capital-project fact sheet
• May 6 City Council agenda and contract action
• National Preservation Partners Network Section 106 account
• City historic-review record
• Yuma County Heritage Area annual report
• City road report, Sept. 3