Site cleanup is underway at the old Airport Inn Lakeside on Lake Country's Petrie Road.
The motel was shut down in 2017 for health and safety purposes. Fines were issued and the business license was revoked, but former owner Raif Fleihan continued to house people in the deteriorating buildings.
In 2019, the District of Lake Country ordered the buildings be boarded up and a fence built around the perimeter. Following municipal orders, Fleihan put the property up for sale.
In 2021, 11474 Petrie Road was purchased and in September 2024 Lake Country Council granted approval to Calgary-based Eagle Crest Construction for a new development.
麻豆精选 company Demolition King has the contract to tear the buildings down, but after years of sitting vacant, the 5.5-acre property has been left in disarray.
Black Press was given a tour during the clean-up.
Piles of garbage and debris have been collected from the roadways and parking lots on the site. The inside of the buildings has yet to be touched as many load-bearing walls are damaged and the buildings are unsafe to enter.
Furniture from the Cave nightclub in 麻豆精选, another business venture of Fleihan's, was found on the property amidst old cabinets, TVs, and other vandalized furnishings.
Items of clothing, shoes, children's toys, and trash scattered the property and walls were coloured over with graffiti.
Once the site is cleaned up, the buildings will be demolished to make way for a four-building, 364-rental-unit development.
