The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Date with wrecking ball
Demolition begins on Lorain motel
The end has begun for a landmark on Lorain’s shoreline.
On April 18, a crew from B& B Wrecking & Excavating Inc. of Cleveland began tearing down the Erieview Motel, 2800 W. Erie Ave.
The motel is coming down after the city of Lorain waged a legal battle to shut its doors.
City officials argued residents lived in poor conditions.
Combined with allegations of criminal activity, the site became a public nuisance that was condemned by the city.
Nice view, I guess,” said Chris Gargarita, foreman for the wrecking crew, as he stood on the north side of the motel.
That spot behind the building had a concrete pad on the ground and grass before the bluff dropped off to Lake Erie.
“It was nice back in the day,” Gargarita said. “It’s a shame they just let it go.”
On the morning of April 18, observers there could hear the beeps of smoke detectors warning of low battery power.
“It’s the only thing that’s
still going for this building,” Gargarita said.
The workers removed any mattresses left inside 51 rooms, but the place was “a dump,” he said.
The motel once was a nice place, said Chris Manofski, owner of Chris’ Restaurant, 2812 W. Erie Ave.
His parking lot was serving as the temporary viewing
area for people coming to watch the demolition.
The motel began its life as the Beachcomber Motor Lodge, opening sometime around 1959, according to Lorain historian Dan Brady, who operates a website devoted to historical details about Lorain sites.
Brady found vintage advertisements from 1960 and
1962 that promoted the motel’s heated swimming pool and a conference room, with private telephones, free TV and a 24-hour switchboard.
In 2015, Brady argued the city was hurting, not helping, its residents, businesses and the local economy, by losing motels.
In April 2015, the Lorain Department of Building,
Housing and Planning guided city efforts to obtain search warrants for inspectors to enter four motels. City staff then presented the findings to the Demolition Board of Appeals.
“However, it sounds like rather than give the motels time to fix the problems, the city has basically pressured them into agreeing to be demolished,” Brady wrote. “There was little discussion by the demo board about the conditions in the motels before making their decision. As a result, the motel owners will lose their businesses, and the motels’ residents will lose their homes.”
All four motels sit in Lorain’s Ward 7, where Councilman Joe Faga said he has heard nothing but positive comments from residents tired of “the noise, the drugs, the deplorable condition of the units.”
The majority of police calls in the ward were generated at the motels, Faga said.
“It’s very positive,” he said.
“The demolition of the hotels is very positive. The residents have been anxiously awaiting for this to occur.”
Gargarita estimated the demolition would last until the end of next week.
After that, B& B Wrecking will move to demolish the Shoreway Motel, 3945 W. Erie Ave.
It was unclear what will be the future uses of the sites.
The city Demolition Board of Appeals has voted to level the Parkview Motel, 4851 W. Erie Ave., and Lake Motel, 3917 W. Erie Ave.
In March, Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer said the city administration still is working on eventual demolition of the structures.