PORT ANGELES — The shuttered Chinook Motel may be demolished after all.
Port Angeles city officials say the motel has been bequeathed to a Florida man, the nephew of the previous owner, William Youtef, who died a few weeks ago.
The nephew, Aihab Gerges, is considering demolishing the dilapidated buildings at the corner of First and Ennis streets in preparation of selling the land, said Nathan West, city economic and community development director.
William and his wife, Awatef, had been living in the motel until his death.
They had listed it for sale but showed no intent of demolishing the motel.
Awatef has since moved to Florida, West said.
The building and property, valued at $582,600 according to the Clallam County Assessor’s Office, is now listed for sale for $950,000.
It was listed for $1.5 million.
The city condemned the motel — once considered one of the finest motels on U.S. Highway 101 in Clallam County when it was built around 1950 — in June 2009 for health and building code violations which included rodent droppings, dead bedbugs, signs of living bugs and extensive water damage.
The Younans, citing financial difficulties, made little effort to resolve the violations, required for them to reopen the motel or live in it.
The city had long sought to force them to resolve at least some of the violations, and was considering evicting the owners since it can’t be used as a residence unless it is an operating business.
West said he is hopeful that the issues will soon be resolved.
“There’s a new party involved and we no longer have a residence scenario,” he said.
“With that out of the way . . . we are feeling very positive with what we might be able to achieve.”
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
