Troubled motel to be demolished

Del City declares former Econo Lodge dilapidated; sets March demo deadline

By Lea Terry
Midwest City Beacon

A long-troublesome property in Del City will be demolished, but there are questions about the best way to secure the property until then. At its December 16 meeting, the Del City Council approved the dilapidation declaration for the former Econo Lodge at 5501 Tinker Diagonal. However, the demolition likely won’t occur until January.

Assistant City Manager Kellie Wilbanks advises that the city had been unable to maintain contact with the owner, Del City Joint Ventures, LLC. The property was condemned in August. In September, the city issued a correction notice with a list of things that needed to be addressed and completed a walkthrough with the owner. The owner appealed the correction notice, later dropping the appeal and also failing to correct any of the items on the notice. On November 6, the city posted the notice for the dilapidation hearing.

The building is unsecured and in disrepair, with significant damage to windows, railings, and even loadbearing walls. There have been 1,484 police calls and 348 fire service calls. Police Chief Loyd Berger advised that several of his officers had been out on injury leave after getting into physical altercations with people at the site.

The property owner did not appear at the hearing, but Gary Giessemann, an attorney for the mortgage holder FNB Community Bank, did appear. Giessemann advised that FNB is foreclosing on the property and they have a hearing scheduled for January 8 to request an emergency order to demolish the property, as well as a contract pending with a demolition company.

The dilapidation determination approved by the council requires that demolition begin no later than January 31, 2025 and end no later than March 2, 2025. However, given that the property has long been a nuisance and is considered a danger to the surrounding area, including nearby businesses such as Waffle House, council members asked about potentially speeding up the demolition process or better securing the property by boarding up windows and doors on the first floor or installing temporary fencing.

In regard to speeding up the process, Wilbanks advised that under Oklahoma statute, the city must give the owner and/or any mortgagees 30 business days notice prior to demolition. In regard to securing the property, Wilbanks said that even boarding up the first floor would require clearing the entire building, something that could be dangerous for city employees given the state of the structure.

Berger confirmed this, saying it will take at least half a day to clear the building and will require more than just Del City PD, and that he has already been in contact with the Midwest City Police Department and with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office for assistance.

The dilapidation determination approved by the council includes filing a lien against the property and authorization for the city manager to have the structure razed and removed if demolition is not completed by March 2, 2025.