Old Lubbock Jail to Become Alluring New Boutique Hotel, Would You Stay There?

The Former Lubbock County Jail is being repurposed as a boutique hotel for downtown Lubbock, but would you stay in a room that used to be a jail cell? I say yes!

According to KCBD-TV, a developer has given plans to the county to repurpose the former Lubbock County Jail as a boutique hotel right in the heart of historic downtown Lubbock.

The Mayo Hotel, as it will be called, will be a 45-room hotel in the building originally built to be a jail in the 1930s and remained a jail until 2010 when the jail moved out of the building.

The building has been vacant ever since and was threatened to be demolished which put it on the Texas Historical Buildings endangered list.

Jim Snyder of Brickhugger LLC bought the property with his brother just like they did the old courthouse which has been transformed into the Courthouse Lofts, he said he and his brother love preserving history.

The building was opened in 1931 but was only three stories tall, in 1951 the last two floors were added which was the original plan of the county jail and after the remodel it will be the place where you can spend the night, maybe after a night of partying like so many in Lubbock used to do. Still, instead of a cold jail cell, it will be a luxurious room.

Snyder says the hotel will feature a coffee shop and bar called "The Slammer" along with retail on the first floor once the project is completed.

Snyder says the first phase should take about 6-9 months, after that, the project could take a year and a half to two years to complete.