Lake Motel in city undergoing demolition

City targeted 4 sites for crime, bad conditions

Contractors are tearing down the Lake Motel, 3917 W. Erie Ave., the third of four hotels where nuisance conditions and bad behavior became targets for Lorain officials.

C&J Contractors of Cleveland on Oct. 17 began taking down the east building of the complex, which has three structures. The east and west buildings had rooms for rent and while the central structure was a home for the hotel owners or managers.

The city will pay $37,900 for the job, according to the contract approved by the Board of Control, made up of Mayor Chase Ritenauer and Safety-Service Director Dan Given.

“I am pleased to finally get the Lake Motel demolished and it is yet another example of blight that has been removed from our community,” Ritenauer said. “Ridding Lorain of these eyesores is essential as we continue to improve our city.”

Technically the work began last week as contractors began removing pipe insulation, window glazing and other materials that contained asbestos in the buildings, said Phil Dore, deputy safety-service director and chief of staff to Ritenauer.

The building with the residence will remain, but the buildings with rooms to let will be razed.

The complex, sitting on 1.74 acres, is owned by Shreeji Property LLC, according to Lorain County Auditor’s records.

Starting in April 2015, the city Department of Building, Housing and Planning and other city departments used search warrants to inspect four motels in the city.

City officials argued the hotels had unsanitary living conditions and became the sites of numerous crimes in Lorain.

The Lake Motel may have been the worst: On Dec. 1, 2014, 26-year-old Robert Caudill, a father of two sons, was robbed and killed while delivering a pizza to the motel.

Benjamin Davis of Lorain is serving a life sentence in prison for murder and other offenses, according to court records.

In 2017, the city hired contractors to take down Erieview Motel, 2800 W. Erie Ave., and Shoreway Motel, 3945 W. Erie Ave.

Parkview Motel, 4851 W. Erie, is the last one standing. It has been deemed a nuisance and dangerous to the public, according to a 2016 vote by the Lorain Demolition Board of Appeals.

RICHARD PAYERCHIN — THE MORNING JOURNAL A crew from C&J Contractors takes down the east building of Lake Motel, 3917 W. Erie Ave. The motel is the third to be demolished of four that city officials targeted for nuisance health conditions and crime.