Providence Inn and Suites declared “out of service” after health inspection

A Columbia motel inspection showed not one room is fit to be rented out right now.

The Providence Inn and Suites was inspected again by the health department last Friday, after it closed.

The inspection found nearly every single room had at least one problem that had to be fixed before the next buy can take over.

Andrea Waner with the Boone County Health Department said this inspection found more violations than a normal lodging inspection.

“We found presence of mold, roaches, spiderwebs, soiled and stained carpet, feces leaking from toilets, soiled and stained mattresses and box springs, torn mattresses, a hole in the ceiling, and a loose railing on the upper level balcony.

Add that to the 35 rooms that do not have a working smoke detector, plus others that are missing fire extinguishers.

Experienced hotel owner Vik Puri said anyone renovating this hotel would likely be in for a challenge.

“Building costs depending on what franchise can range from 60,000 to 100,000 per room,” Puri said.

And with 85 rooms in the Providence Inn, the potential buy could be looking at around an 8.5 million dollar project. That’s because much of it may need to be rebuilt because of the mold.

“If it’s a concrete structure you could have to get down to the root of it, and if it’s wood, you might have to tear it down,” Puri said.

Councilman Michael Trapp told ABC 17 News he’s been in touch with the potential buyer, and believes the buyer has the ability to do the massive renovations.

“He bought a rent by the hour hotel in St. Louis and was able to turn it around,” Trapp said.

But he’s not sure if the buyer will still want to after seeing the new inspection report.

“I don’t think he realized how bad of shape the motel was in,” Trapp said. “But my biggest concern is that the property is going to be vacant for an inordinant amount of time.”

The potential buyer is supposed to close on May 15.