CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two more motels are closing in Sugar Creek in hopes of reducing crime in the neighborhood and creating more stable housing.
Now, dozens of families living in one of the motels need somewhere to go. Charlotte nonprofits are working together to seek solutions for the families and crime in the corridor.
For years, there have been shootings, drug busts, and concerns about human trafficking at Sugar Creek motels.
"We feel like that's where a lot of our struggle is, and a lot of the crimes are coming from," Janette Kinard told WCNC Charlotte.
Kinard runs Champion House of Care, a nonprofit that helps homeless families in the corridor.
According to crime mapping, 706 crimes were reported in a mile radius of the West Sugar Creek exit off I-85 in the last six months, including two homicides.
The City of Charlotte is on a mission to reduce the number of motels in the corridor to reduce crime. For example, earlier this year, the city bought the Economy Inn, which has since been demolished to make way for new townhomes. Plus, a couple of motels, including the Baymont Hotel, have been converted into transitional housing for the homeless.
"It feels good, because you know there's a change coming, but we know we still have a whole lot of steps to take to get there," Kinard said.
The latest changes: The Charlotte Speedway Inn and the Rodeway Inn on West Sugar Creek Road are being sold.
Developers are hoping to rezone the adjacent motel properties to turn them into "accessible" apartments. The plans convert the existing motel structures into about 200 units of one-bedroom and studio apartments.
"We’ve done this quite a few times in the past, we’ve got about 10-15 projects going on, so this is not new to us," Hunter McLees, the developer with Sage Investment Group told Charlotte city leaders in November.
Kinard is looking forward to the development but some families have lived at the Speedway Inn for more than five years, and she said finding them new homes will be a struggle.
The city has tasked Kinard and other groups, including the Crisis Assistance Ministry, with helping the 33 families relocate.
"There is the fear that we're creating more homelessness in the community accidentally," Carol Hardison, the CEO of Crisis Assistance Ministry, said when talking about redevelopment.
That's why the city is working with nonprofits and the developer to prevent displacement and help the families.
Hardison said most motel residents work but can’t get permanent housing due to past evictions or criminal records.
"It is really hard to believe that thousands of people in Charlotte-Mecklenburg call a hotel home," Hardison said.
Roslyn Barrett has lived at the Speedway Inn for about five years and told WCNC Charlotte she is excited to leave.
"You can see yourself, it’s terrible," Barrett said about the motel.
Trash is piling up around the dumpster and units, which have not been picked up in months. The motel has several outstanding code violations with the city.
"They won’t pick the trash up and it’s because of the owner," said Barrett. "He don’t care."
Several residents said the motel owner has neglected the property and doesn't address their concerns. McLees told city leaders he’s had trouble getting in touch with them about the sale.
"The Speedway is a little bit harder to work with and get what’s actually going on with that property," McLees said at the November meeting.
Court documents show the owner Rafid Latif was convicted of fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the motel. He was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison in 2019.
The nonprofits are now working with families living at the Speedway Inn to provide them with food, and clothing, and to find them affordable housing.
The developer told city leaders the sale of the two motels is set to close on Jan. 31. Then, work will begin to bring the building up to code and renovate it if the city council approves the property's rezoning petition.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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