COLUMBUS, Ohio — Following years of violations from the City of Columbus, a hotel in the 4000 block of Sinclair Road on the north side was shut down Monday.
America's Best Value Inn was issued code violations dating back to 2017 and failed to fix the property and address increased crime and drug overdoses forcing its shut down, according to the Columbus City Attorney. It will remain closed until the property is sold or all outstanding violations are fixed.
Initial inspections conducted by the city found that several things were installed without plan approval and permits and there were unsafe and dangerous conditions in a vacant building.
Property owners also repeatedly failed to make progress and meet requirements on agreements made with the city to address crime and saw a spike in drug overdoses and calls for service.
“Providing visitors with safe, secure accommodations is the bare minimum to ask of hotel operators," City Attorney Zach Klein said. "When properties become unsafe or hubs of criminal or drug activity, it’s our duty to step in to protect public safety, and in this case it means shutting the property down until those standards are met either by current or future ownership.
Due to noncompliance under current ownership, the City objected to a renewal of the hotel's license to operate. Effective Aug. 1, the premises will remain closed down until the current or new owners can bring it into compliance and create a plan to decrease crime and drug activity.
“In every case, our goal is to ensure public safety by pushing for property and business owners to be accountable and compliant with basic health, safety and security standards. [Yesterday's] action gives peace of mind to area residents and business owners who’ve suffered and worried about this property for far too long," Assistant City Attorney Sarah Pomeroy said