CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tenants in a hotel neighbors said is a haven for crime will have to get out.
The eviction is the latest step in the city's plans to demolish the Charlotte Inn off Independence Boulevard.
It was June of last year when east Charlotte residents held signs, protesting outside the government center and demanding the city close the Charlotte Inn.
Neighbors complained to city leaders and police about gang activity, robberies, drug activity and other crimes in and around the motel.
Late last year, the City Council agreed to buy the Charlotte Inn and tear it down. Now, that process is taking another step forward.
Neighbor Jason VanBuren runs a Facebook page devoted to shutting down the Charlotte Inn. He told Channel 9 that he met with police and learned all of the motel's tenants will be evicted on Monday, which is a week earlier than he expected.
"It will cut down on the traffic coming in and out of the neighborhood. Not just cars, but drug dealers and prostitutes who have made the hotel their center of business,” VanBuren said.
He said demolition on Charlotte Inn, the old I-Hop next door and the long boarded up Value Lodge should happen in June or July.
VanBuren said the neighborhood has been awarded a matching grant from the city and hope to use the money put a park, greenery and a butterfly garden in its place.
"We feel great,” VanBuren said. “A lot of people have lived here their whole lives and they are excited to see it go down so they can feel a little safer in their homes."
Channel 9 reached out to staff members at Charlotte Inn to ask about the evictions, but they did not want to comment.
WSOC
