The owner of the Bel-Aire Motel, located along old Route 66 in Springfield, Ill., has been slapped with $141,000 in fines for more than 400 building code violations, reported the Springfield State Journal-Register.
The city inspected nearly the entire 80-room hotel over three days this year — Jan. 9, Feb. 3 and March 1, said John Sadowski, Springfield’s building department manager. Hundreds of mechanical, electrical, plumbing and building code violations were discovered, he said. […]
The 1960s-vintage motel has been a residential motel in recent years, catering mostly to longer-term, low-income tenants. Neighborhood groups have complained to the city about the sale of illegal drugs and other criminal activity at the property.
The owner, who lives in Florida, has 35 days to appeal the fines.
Just a few months ago, it was reported that Springfield was negotiating to buy the motel and adapt it into a Route 66 museum and visitors center. A recent photo of the Bel-Aire can be found here. The retro neon sign, including a Sputnik structure, would make it a beacon for Route 66 travelers if the motel were so converted.
Although the city would never admit it, I’m fairly certain it plans to eventually seize the nuisance property through condemnation and compensate the owner for its nominal value, with the hopes to eventually convert it into a museum. That’s essentially what the City of Albuquerque did with the historic El Vado Motel a few years ago.