NEW ORLEANS — A historic– and infamous– Hollygrove motel is now shut down. Late this week, state and local authorities told London Lodge Motel it had 72 hours to vacate its guests. Many have lived there for years and said they were struggling to find new places to live in such a short amount of time.
“We were notified [Friday] as a group with a notice on the door,” said one longtime resident who asked to remain anonymous. The day before, the Louisiana Fire Marshal filed a cease-and-desist order against London Lodge.
A spokesperson said the motel was only permitted to host short-term guests and an inspector found "long-term apartment-type occupancies.”
The motel told all of its occupants they had to leave by 5 p.m. Saturday. “The thing that is difficult is getting a van, finding a location, because this is Labor Day weekend and with Southern Decadence in the city there is nothing in the city,” said the resident.
WWL Louisiana spoke with a relative of the owner who was on-site as people packed up Saturday. He said the family was not interested in speaking with the media, though said it was trying to find places for all of the motel’s occupants to go.
“They’ve been good to me,” said the resident, “ I just need to know for security where I'm going and I think they’ll come through on it.”
London Lodge Motel has stood on Airline Highway for decades. Neighbors have complained that it attracts crime, including a murder on the premises last June.
City records also show a long history of code violations, including the most recent filed Friday and turned over to the Fire Marshal, which describes “unsafe electrical conditions” and “raw sewerage.” Older violations report “nuisances,” “structural violations,” “trash,” and “rodents.”
Several residents told WWL Louisiana they had experienced black mold and other safety hazards. Others said they believed the motel’s reputation was harsher than deserved and that they had enjoyed their time living there.
“There are some bad people, I agree, I’m not judging anybody,” said the one resident who agreed to be recorded, “but the guys and the people in my building are extremely nice and they have nothing bad to say. They just need time.”
According to the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate, the State Fire Marshal said the motel would be allowed to reopen if it submitted a plan for renovations to accommodate long-term guests. It could also reopen solely for short-term guests.
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