HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KAKE) - A long-closed Hutchinson hotel and conference center that has has numerous nuisance complaints could soon be demolished.
City Council unanimously voted to condemn the former Atrium Hotel on North Lorraine during Tuesday's meeting. The council passed a measure considering the hotel to be an unsafe and dangerous structure, and giving the property's owner 30 days to demolish or repair the building.
Owner Joshua Joseph spoke at Tuesday's meeting, and described his plans to redevelop the hotel to include retail and storage units. However, vice mayor Stacy Goss said there was no public trust, given the state of the hotel.
"Building a strip mall with your name attached to it, I don't believe the public is going to jump on the opportunity for new businesses to go into. I think the condition of the hotel in its current state...there is no public trust for you here."
Police Chief Brice Burlie shared several encounters with individuals found inside the hotel, some of whom were under the influence of drugs. He says the calls for service take away officers from other priorities and engaging with citizens.
"To clear this building, depending on the type of call, it can go anywhere from 10 to 20 officers to effectively clear the building. It's sad to say, but I have a standing order with my officers that we won't make entry into that building unless it's a life or death situation, because of the black mold and the other hazards that are inside that building. If I'm required to send my officers in there to deal with that, I'm putting my officer's lives in danger."
Burlie stresses that addressing the property's issues soon is a must.
"I'm afraid if it's not, somebody's going to lose their life inside that building, whether it's a citizen, an officer, or another first responder."
The hotel was closed in December 2019, with utilities being shut off the following month. Since then, Hutchinson Police and Fire departments have been called to the building 350 times for service calls related to theft, vandalism, and even vehicles found inside the hotel. In addition, the hotel's fire suppression system would burst in the winter of 2020, and a power transformer was drained of its oil in 2022. Since the hotel's closure, nine nuisance violations have been issued, resulting in nearly $4,000 in unpaid abatement fees.
