Grand Forks orders troubled Ambassador Motel demolished

Jun. 22—The Ambassador Motel, which deteriorated for years on Grand Forks' Washington Street, is set to be bulldozed.

City Council members on Monday unanimously approved a demolition order for the motel over the objections of Kenton McGregor, who manages the trust that owns the building. McGregor asked for enough time to sell it to Blue Star Investments, whose administrators, he claimed, would demolish the Ambassador anyway.

"I don't think we're necessarily objecting to the fact that the Ambassador probably should be taken down," McGregor said. "I'm objecting to the fact that very little time has been given to effectuate anything like a sale without the possibility that the city could put a damper on a sale by immediately requiring that, within seven days, someone is supposed to demolish the building."

McGregor was served on June 10 with an order that gave him seven days to demolish the property. He appealed, which set up Monday's definitive vote. The order council members approved then takes precedence over the initial demolition order, according to City Administrator Todd Feland, and it stipulates that McGregor must level the building "as soon as practicable" and no later than a time established by Brandon Boespflug, the head of the city's inspections department. Boespflug did not return Herald requests for comment after the meeting.

Related: Where are they now? Former residents of Ambassador Motel in Grand Forks work to move on

Safety worries

The Ambassador has a checkered reputation that includes frequent police calls, violence, robberies and drug abuse. But rooms there were cheap, and many residents were unable to afford a better place to live. Grand Forks police received an Americans with Disabilities Act complaint earlier this spring and, ultimately, city inspectors logged dozens of health and safety problems at the motel. The city declared the building unsafe to occupy and, after about two weeks, sent police officers to clear out the handful of residents who remained.

"You had people that could've been directly above a fire and wouldn't have known it," Fire Chief Gary Lorenz told council members.

Grand Forks firefighters put out two simultaneous blazes there shortly after police moved out the last residents. Lorenz said a state investigation into those fires has not been completed.

In a hearing designed to resemble a courtroom trial, McGregor told council member Bret Weber that he removed the Styrofoam from the motel's basement — one of several potential fire hazards city inspectors noted — and said the motel's manager, his son Tyler, had stored too many items there. He also claimed that a lot of the "clutter" in the motel had been cleaned and that the basement was locked at all times and that only the hotel's manager was allowed there. Herald visits to the motel and interviews with now-former residents indicate that the basement was easily accessible and often had people who weren't the manager inside it, and that broken glass and discarded furniture were strewn through its hallways, both before and after the city forced residents out.

"When was the last time the fire alarm system was inspected?" council member Danny Weigel asked. McGregor said he didn't remember, and, during a series of rapid-fire questions from Weigel, also claimed he didn't remember when the fire alarm system had last reported "normal" conditions and that extension cords hadn't been used as permanent wiring at the motel in a "long time." Each of those were safety hazards noted by Grand Forks Fire Department inspectors.

"I don't get involved in the day-to-day operations," McGregor said.

The company that's set to buy the motel is Blue Star Investments, whose management arm lists in its portfolio the Southtown Center strip mall on South Washington Street, a warehouse of South 48th Street, and a proposed strip mall in East Grand Forks.

In related news, council members:

— Approved a series of changes to the city's alcohol policies that, on balance, allow some types of bars and restaurants to deliver alcohol alongside food, expand charitable gaming in restaurants, allow minors to work in more types of bars and restaurants, and prevent people who've been convicted of a violent misdemeanor from holding a liquor license, among other changes. The policy changes were enacted unanimously except the charitable gambling expansion, which council members Katie Dachtler and Jeannie Mock opposed.

— OK'd scaled-down payments for an event series as well as an annual festival on the Greenway. Council members unanimously approved $25,000 for the Downtown Development Association's "Obelisk" event series in downtown Grand Forks, a vote from which council member Bret Weber recused himself because his son, Blue, runs the association. The younger Weber asked for $50,000 worth of "seed" money from the city, and said the smaller-than-hoped-for public subsidy would reduce the number of events in the series from six to three. Council members also approved $50,000 for the Greenway Takeover festival; its organizers initially asked for $100,000.