May 7--The El Rancho motel redevelopment project in Key West will be under way before too long, its architect says. Part of the plan is to move the rebuilt motel up to its property line by 5 feet. No variance was needed. "We're going to start construction," architect Jose Gonzalez said. The 30,625-square-foot El Rancho is often referred to it as a structure badly in need of redevelopment. An item to address a variance for the setback was set to go before the city Board of Adjustment tonight but Gonzalez had it pulled it from the agenda because it turned out one isn't needed. In May 2006, the Key West City Commission passed the owner's plan to tear down the existing motel and build a new one. On April 1, the city denied the project's second extension. City officials agree the 50-unit hotel at 830 Truman Ave. needs to be redeveloped. "The El Rancho was built in the 1950s and it was kind of a tourist hotel of that era," Gonzalez said. "The idea is using the scale and feel of old Conch houses with porches and nice landscaping." Drawings of the project show an obvious improvement, with two-story Conch-style roofs and balconies. Average daily rates for rooms range from about $122 to about $152 for early April, according to the hotel's Web site.

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