Motel sits empty, collecting violations
By Joey Berlin
Originally published 01:27 p.m., March 6, 2008
Updated 01:27 p.m., March 6, 2008
While the University Inn sits unused, awaiting sale, it’s racking up a new city violation every day.
At Wednesday’s city commission meeting, City Manager Matt Zimmerman told the commission that the city met with University Inn personnel two weeks ago and let them know that their permit had expired because no work had been done on the motel in six months.
“And we gave them the standard 10-day warning to mitigate all violations at the property, including securing the property,” Zimmerman said. “They had until Monday to mitigate all the problems; they have not.
“We have issued them a ticket, and they have been informed that every day they don’t mitigate, the violations will be considered a separate violation, and we are moving forward with a strong enforcement action.”
Zimmerman told the commission his office is working closely with the city prosecutor’s office to make sure each day is processed as a separate violation.
City Attorney Blaise Plummer said doors on rooms at the motel were required to be locked but weren’t, and the entry gate wasn’t secured sufficiently.
Mohammed Elsalmi confirmed last month that the company owned by his father, Dr. Ghazi Elsalmi, would not be able to complete in-progress renovations on the motel at 1839 Merchant St. and would be looking to sell it. Ghazi Elsalmi now lives in Qatar and had been trying to obtain a green card to come to the U.S. Mohammed Elsalmi said last month that while his father had been waiting for processing of the green card, finances for the renovations had decreased.
Mohammed Elsalmi couldn’t be reached for comment.
Zimmerman said it would be up to the municipal court judge handling the case to decide what punishment the University Inn’s owners will face.
gazette_reader (anonymous) says...
I think this story is being followed closely because such big promises of renovation (a sort of luxury hotel, if I remember right) were made, and then *poof*, the people involved all seemed to disappear. People have written the Gazette to ask questions as to the hotel's progress since the Gazette did a feature story about it when it was purchased.
It's a shame that there isn't a good hotel up and running right next to the university. Prospective students and their families, visiting scholars, families in town for graduation, alumni in town for Homecoming, like to be close to the school.
March 6, 2008 at 4:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
AlexJohnston (anonymous) says...
Something needed to be pointed out about the condition of the property it really is becoming quite an eyesore, which I think is quite discouraging to people traveling thru emporia on I-35 looking for lodging. I hope that something grand like what gazette_reader made mention of is done, that would be really neat! (a Jewel of a hotel to draw them off the highway and into our grand little town)
March 6, 2008 at 4:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jaredfromsubway (anonymous) says...
I saw no mention of muslim in the article. I don't think Mohammed in the article is actually the "Muhammad" you are thinking of. He died a few years ago.
Is Muslim (Muslimah for the ladies) a race or religion? I think what you meant to say is that the gazette discriminates toward religions that readers infer are supported by business owners of Emporia. I have no evidence to support that claim, where as I could find no mention of the shareholders of Tyson Foods being Atheists.
March 6, 2008 at 6:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kscrusader (anonymous) says...
It seems like an article filled with facts. I didn't read anything about the religion of the business owners, but simply their country of origin. If another business had violations mentioned in a city commission meeting, guess what.......that business would be on the front page of the Gazette!!!
News is news, whoever makes it. The Gazette is simply providing information about a subject that has stimulated much interest.
It is unfortunate that the former Univervsity Inn can't be renovated and provide Emporia with another viable motel.
March 6, 2008 at 6:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wanderer (anonymous) says...
The fact is, if the Gazette HADN'T covered this, half of Emporia would probably say the paper was covering up bad news or showing favoritism. As kscrusader said, it's legitimate news.
It's too bad things couldn't come together, but I can't say I was surprised. This has been a stop-and-go project with too much "stop" and not enough "go."
March 6, 2008 at 7:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
orlando (anonymous) says...
After no construction going on at that motel since last April, it is about time something is done. Since last fall, frequently doors have been open, on all 3 sides visible from the street and from I-35. At some point prior to that, the latches had to have been broken for this to occur. With those doors open to the elements and critters, (including people) the interior must be a disaster! It does have all new windows, and a new roof, but that is it. We on the east side of town were really anticipating a nice motel/restaurant. What a major disappointment. The employees at the Short Stop next door have had northbound travelers stop and ask about that motel, and not wanting to go back to the Industrial St. exit, have to go on to Ottawa. (Actually, it almost looks like a prison with that high fence around it! ) What an eyesore at the exit where a state highway comes into town, and being right by ESU. Maybe ESU could obtain it, have the business school run it, and get more revenue from it. Have the tech college construction classes do the fixing up, and the food program run a restaurant!! The longer it just sits there, the worse it gets. I think it was a major pipe dream for the current owners from the beginning.
March 6, 2008 at 8:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
admireed (anonymous) says...
It is a dog. Bulldozer it.
March 6, 2008 at 10:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mythoughts (anonymous) says...
Too much "stop", not enough "go" - yep. If that spot can't have a nice, viable building on it, turn it into a scenic overlook park with room for kite flying - you could just hold your kite out and the Kansa winds would take it right on up. We could have community bonfires at the equinoxes (and homecoming games) that would be seen for miles! haha Wait - put a wind turbine on it! It could power half the town! haha
March 7, 2008 at 8:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
I think it's good they are taking a pro-active approach at getting the owner to do something about it before it gets much worse. They are doing what should be done to all abandoned properties and projects in town. I do not feel the City is doing this in hopes of aquiring the property, but instead they are trying to get it back on the revenue producing side of the business world.
Unless the current owners try to jack the price way up to recoup all of their losses, I wouldn't think they would have a hard time selling the place. The building may be damaged goods now, but the location is prime. Think about it, unless the Country Club property is sold to developers, there will never be close competitors to this property or the C-store next door. The State owns 6 almost 7 blocks in the city limits, as well as the East side of Merchant to the river. The Interstate is on the North of the property to the river. The CC on the West side, Federal Govt and the Nat. Guard on the South, City owns a little strip South of that. There will be not be others on the North side of the river because it's designated flood areas.
March 7, 2008 at 11:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lycomu (anonymous) says...
The Lyon County Historical Society is in desperate need of a new facilty. This location would be ideal, visiable and convient to the thousands of travelers zipping by every day. This could be a showplace of Lyon County and Emporia history and it could very well provide much needed new dollars to our area.
March 7, 2008 at 11:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gazette_reader (anonymous) says...
I just saw this on the KVOE web site:
Local realtors confirm a possible sale pending on the University Inn property on north Merchant. Today, Maurice Schmidt of Ek Real Estate says a sale agreement is pending with an out of town group. He said they will be appearing before a zoning board in the future asking for zoning that would accommodate conversion to university multiple family housing. Schmidt said it would require a zoning change that should not be a problem. The pending sale he said is a pending sale that has not closed yet, and wont close until July 15th of this year. This week, Emporia City Manager Matt Zimmerman said the city was concerned about the property, and were monitoring the conditions there. University Inn representatives have not returned a call regarding the property.
While I would be happy to see this property being used, all I can say is, "More Multi-Family Housing?"
March 7, 2008 at 1:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Where are all these "multi families" going to work?
March 7, 2008 at 2:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bellabrooke (anonymous) says...
Does anyone else think the smart thing for the city to have done was sit quietly issuing violations and then collecting the fines. If it sits long enough, I'd bet the city's money woes could have a dent made in them. I don't think it's much more of an eyesore than the many many homes in a state of blight the city doesn't address.
March 7, 2008 at 2:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gazette_reader (anonymous) says...
I'm curious how they're going to collect the fines, since the owner is living half a world away.
I could almost see converting it into housing targeting university students, but I'm just thinking, why would someone want to join the Emporia rental market right now, when so many units are going to empty in the upcoming weeks and months as a chunk of former Tyson employees move on?
March 7, 2008 at 4 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporian (anonymous) says...
Multi Family housing is a fancy name for apartment complex. Something this town deperately needs is nice affordable housing for college students. Nice apartments are hard to come by in Emporia. If they are nice they fetch a premium. This town has way more run down crappy apartments than it should, and coincidently that is all many students can afford. This could be a nice close alternative for many ESU Students.
March 7, 2008 at 4:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gazette_reader (anonymous) says...
Most of the nicer stuff that's being built new is more expensive than the crappy stuff, obviously...Prairie Sage, Ashley Estates, and most likely the new place being built on former cemetery land off of Prairie.
How does a city keep the rental houses and apartment units, some of which are already in poor condition, from going into total decay if there are no renters? There are some large pockets of the city that might sit empty for a while until there is an upward shift in employment opportunities.
March 7, 2008 at 7:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporian (anonymous) says...
Ashley Estates, the new ones on being built on the former cemetary land etc are senior citizen living. I tell you how they keep them out of total decay. There will now be competition to get renters. If your place is falling apart, you are gonna have to put some money into it to get somebody to move in. Its actually really simple.
March 7, 2008 at 9:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gazette_reader (anonymous) says...
That is a really good point, emporian.
March 11, 2008 at 2:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
citizen (anonymous) says...
Another project that has been stopped is the Boi diesel plant. How come the know one is talking about it? Is it going to become another eyesore?
March 11, 2008 at 8:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
orlando (anonymous) says...
What is the deal with the motel? For the last several months, there were certain doors that would be open when the wind blew a certain direction---probably broken locks--but since late last week, there are many doors open, especially on the south side. This includes a door that appears to be into a maintenance area. The fence is padlocked, but not secure, as a person could easily slip through. I heard that a sale is pending, but even so, it is looking much worse than it has for several months---just an invite to critters/persons who might want a roof over their heads. Or be looking for things to steal. Does the realtor have any responsibility to be sure it is locked and secure? It is looking more like a slum every day.
March 18, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )