City officials descend on Superior Creek Lodge to condemn the buildings during this photo from September.
Superior Creek Lodge, the extended stay motel on North Mack Smith Road, has been sold.
According to one of the owners of the five-acre property, the sale to the new owners, JDH Developers Inc. was finalized on Friday. The selling price was not disclosed.
“After nine years of being a business owner in East Ridge, I will miss the close working relationships and friendships that I have developed throughout that time,” said SCL owner David Gysin in a prepared statement. “
“Thank you to Chief (Mike) Willliams and Kenny Custer for always being upstanding and professional,” he said. “I have the utmost respect for you both.”
Gysin bought the property in 2006. It had originally opened as a Days Inn motel in the early 1970s. The facility, which has 266 rooms, was home to roughly 750 people. The City of East Ridge condemned the structure in September of last year, citing “life safety” issues. City building officials concluded that the aging buildings had deteriorated to an extent that some of the exterior balconies could collapse under its own weight.
Over a two-day period all the residents were required to vacate the building, records show. It has been vacant since. Gysin had met with city officials during that time period and considered making necessary repairs and updates to re-open the buildings as an extended stay facility. According to city ordinances, SCL would have to make the necessary repairs within a 180-day period if the owners expected it to re-open under its current use as an extended stay motel.
Sources close to the sale of the property said the new owners are considering opening a chain motel on the site, which is adjacent to the East Ridge Retirement Center, a property which is also for sale.
According to JDH Developers Inc. Website, the organization was founded in 1995 by John, Dave and Harry Patel. It is headquartered in Atlanta. The Website states that the mission of JDH Developers “is to build on our reputation for integrity, excellence, experience, and leadership in the nation’s finest construction organization …” The list of projects in its portfolio includes motels under the brands of Best Western, Comfort Suites, Comfort Inns, LaQuinta, Holiday Inn Express and Days Inn.
The City of East Ridge had filed a lawsuit against the owners of Superior Creek Lodge in 2010. The basis of the lawsuit was that the facility was a public nuisance, home to transients who were responsible for a large percentage of crime in East Ridge. A Hamilton County Sessions Court judge set down a court order requiring SCL to install security fences and gates and hire private security to monitor the comings and goings of patrons and visitors. The city was required to install speed humps on N. Mack Smith Road and install electronic devices in some emergency vehicles which would activate gates allowing them to enter the property.
The lawsuit was settled in December of 2014, records show.
