Motel abruptly shutting down, leaving residents without a home

By Dennis Valera

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    BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Dozens living at an Ellicott City motel will be losing their home after they were told it was abruptly shutting down.

While initially the residents at Brown’s Motel were told they had until December 10, the move-out date got pushed up to as soon as Friday, December 6. Community Action Council of Howard County, a nonprofit, is helping the displaced residents find a place to stay.

Virginia Garber, who was packing up her belongings on Thursday, is still figuring out her next steps. She’s lived at Brown’s Motel for a little more than a year and pays $350 a week.

Garber said the residents were first notified in November about having to move out. In a letter, the property owner said the closure is “due to the economic slump and the property is no longer able to afford costs to stay in business.”

The letter said the motel’s utilities and services will shut down by Dec. 10.

“It’s the worst [thing] that’s ever happened to me and I never expected to be in this circumstance,” Garber said. “My sister’s offered to help me financially. She lives in Arizona.”

A sign in front of the motel says the demolition is scheduled for December 15. But, off-camera, the property manager told WJZ that the date has been moved to Monday, December 9.

In 2023, The Howard County Board of Appeals approved the owner — SSM Hospitality LLC — for a variance on the property. The Howard County Planning and Zoning Department confirms there is a site development plan under review for the same address as the motel.

Tracy Broccolino, president of Community Action Council of Howard County, said her organization was first made aware of the situation at Brown’s Motel a little before Thanksgiving.

Broccolino said residents range from seniors to families with children, as well as pets. They’re working to figure out what these residents need to prevent them from being homeless.

“Do they need help with moving expenses, do they need help finding housing, first month’s rent, what is it and how can we help?” Broccolino said.

Broccolino said affordable housing availability in Howard County is low, and programs to help reduce living costs have long waits.

This year’s Out of Reach report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition says the annual income needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Howard County is more than $77,000.

“We want everybody to be able to live here, and folks having to choose to live in a motel because they can’t afford anything else, it’s unacceptable,” Broccolino said.

Some of the residents from Brown’s Motel found rooms at other motels in the area, according to Broccolino, and some have even found housing with family out-of-state.

Garber said she is moving out of the motel on Friday.

“I don’t know where I’m going,” Garber said.

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