PORT ANGELES — The once-dilapidated building known as the Chinook Motel on First Street on Port Angeles’ east side is showing a new face to passing drivers and pedestrians.
The forest-green color that once covered the room doors at the decades-old buildings near the intersection of First and Ennis streets has been replaced by a deep crimson red.
It is one of the most noticeable changes to the motel brought about by Balbir and Gurpreet Singh, Seattle-based father-and-son owners of the motel through Holiday Lodge LLC.
The pair has been working to refurbish the property since buying it in January for $700,000.
“We kind of want to be opened by the end of [June],” son Gurpreet Singh said Wednesday, adding that a finish date depends on when materials can be delivered.
“It depends on how quickly everything moves.”
When it opens, it will no longer be the Chinook Motel, which was condemned and closed in June 2009.
Instead, it will be the Holiday Lodge.
Painting of the exterior and interior walls has been completed, Singh said, while work continues on improving the interiors of the motel’s 53 rooms with new carpet and 32-inch flat-screen TVs.
“We’re hopeful to be getting furniture here soon,” Singh said.
Singh said renovation crews have not encountered any specific challenges.
“[We’ve had] a few hurdles here and there, but that’s in every project,” Singh said.
The pool was filled in last August as part of the city’s nuisance-abatement work on the property.
The Chinook Motel, built in the early 1950s, was once a frequent stop for weary travelers along U.S. Highway 101 and was particularly known for its swimming pool, which was one of the first sights guests saw as they turned into the parking lot.
Singh said he and his father plan to reinstall a pool and hot tub once the motel has been open for a while, likely near the end of this year.
The project so far has cost a little more than expected, Singh said, though he declined to say how much has been spent so far.
“We went a little bit over budget and splurged a bit here and there, but we’re happy with that,” Singh said.
Singh said he and his father have received warm welcomes from local business owners and passers-by.
Russ Veenema, executive director of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce, said he met the Singhs only once but described them as intent on being involved in the community.
“We’re anxious to welcome them to town and get them [to be] a part of everything we’re doing,” Veenema said.
Veenema said Port Angeles will only benefit from the new rooms to be added to the city’s approximately 700 motel and hotel rooms.
“[The] bottom line is it’s very positive to have one, an eyesore being renovated, and two, just having some additional rooms for guests to have choice and help with the [hotel/motel] tax base,” Veenema said.
The Singhs bought the property from Aihab Gerges, who inherited the property from his late uncle, William Youtef, who died in March 2012.
Youtef had been living in the motel with his wife, Awatef, until his death.
Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
