Gateway Hotel shut down and tenants evicted
Update (September 12, 2024): The deadline for the tenants to leave the Gateway Hotel has passed and all people are now supposed to be out of the condemned building.
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- ABC-7 continues to try to find out why the City of El Paso did not stop operations at the Gateway Hotel despite numerous fire code inspections showing not only did the hotel fail to meet code, but it was clearly operating without an occupancy permit.
ABC-7 went into the hotel the day after the County Attorney's Office successfully fought for an injunction to shut down the Gateway. There was trash, broken furniture, and damage to each of the four floors of the over century-old Trost-style building.
Among the details of some of the nearly 700 calls to El Paso police about criminal activity, there were three copies of failed El Paso Fire Dept. code inspections included in the County Attorney's Office lawsuit seeking an injunction of the hotel for being a "common nuisance."
The latest fire inspection conducted on Aug. 19, 2024 (above) stated that inspectors found multiple electrical hazards, expired fire suppression systems, and holes in multiple walls.
The inspection also stated that inspectors were made aware that the building has no current certificate of occupancy. That was the third time the lack of an occupancy permit had been noted since July 2024.
This means people currently staying or living at the hotel are there unlawfully, which prompted the evictions happening since Sept. 10.
ABC-7 asked City of El Paso spokeswoman Laura Cruz-Acosta via email for an interview with someone who could speak about the occupancy and code inspections three times since Monday, Sept. 9.
Cruz-Acosta didn't respond to the request twice, then finally stated in an email that city staff wasn't available for an interview.
She added in part, "Staff said they would conduct inspections as the contractor completed the work and scheduled inspections. Staff said the property, which had a conditional permit, was working on repairs and by law the contractor must be given time to cure the building concerns. There is no time limit to the repairs as long as there is active progress."
ABC-7 will continue to ask the city about this code inspection and occupancy issue.
Meantime, a jury trial in the County Attorney's lawsuit against the Gateway Hotel and its owner is scheduled for Dec. 9, 2024.
