‘Old Motel’ in Ephraim finally demolished
EPHRAIM—This time the news is real.
The Travel Inn at 330 N. Main in Ephraim, a 40-room structure that has been vacant and deteriorating for at least 15 years, has been demolished.
According to Ephrai8m City Manager Brant Hanson, property owner Branden Kirk of Spanish Fork, hired Todd Alder Construction of Ephraim to demolish the motel, along with a shed and vacant house behind the motel.
Todd Alder begin the demolition of the building at approximately 8:30 am on Wednesday, May 17.
Workers have been on site for a couple of weeks doing asbestos mitigation. They took care of ceiling tiles containing asbestos in some of the motel rooms and siding on the house that contained asbestos.
According to Hanson, state inspectors were in Ephraim Tuesday and approved demolition of the motel and house. They were expected to approve demolition of the shed by Wednesday.
Ephraim City and Kirk will take advantage of a benefit set up by the Sanpete County Landfill Association under which debris from up to two city-sponsored cleanup projects per year can be taken to landfills at no charge. The benefit reduces demolition costs significantly.
Besides the motel and house, Kirk owns a vacant field at the rear and to the north of the motel and house. Those pieces combined create an L-shaped parcel a little larger than an acre.
“The hope was to get the buildings down” and then focus on plans for new construction, Hanson said.
The city manager said Kirk had presented conceptual plans to the city staff for apartments geared toward young couples. But he has not yet submitted a formal request.
