Ambassador Motel ready to be razed

The Ambassador Motel in Grand Forks has a future date with a wrecking ball.  The city council approved a demolition order for the former Inn on South Washington last night (Monday).

The 22 unit motel was closed in April after inspectors deemed the building unsafe.  Residents living at the motel were forced to find housing elsewhere.

On April 23rd a fire caused an estimated $30,000 dollars in damage to the structure.  The cause remains under investigation.  Fire Chief Gary Lorenz says an inspection of the building prior to the fire discovered numerous safety issues.  “You had sleeping rooms with an unmonitored alarm system with missing smoke detectors.”

Kenton McGregor who manages the building trust says there is a pending sale of the property to Blue Star Investors who plan to raze the structure for future development.  “It makes sense to move on with the sale of property who will then develop it and take down the old one.”

City Attorney Dan Gaustad says the timeline for demo should not interfere with any pending sale.

The council voted six-zero in favor of demolition.