JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Regency Inn off Arlington Expressway reopened Friday, about a month after it was shut down for several code violations.
And the motel didn’t mind drawing attention to its re-opening, with signs across the front of the building.
A sign in the window said the motel is “under new management.” No one was at the front office when News4Jax attempted to seek comment on the reopening.
One man at the motel who told News4Jax that he moved in Friday while he waits for his other living arrangement said he wasn’t aware the motel had been closed and said the people inside didn’t say anything about it.
The fire marshal issued a cease and desist order to the motel on May 11, referencing several violations, including: Unsafe to public, structural integrity, life-threatening hazards, multiple code violations, unpermitted work and other.
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Several guests were forced out of the motel and many of them told News4Jax they had nowhere else to go.
Councilwoman Joyce Morgan, who represents District 1, which includes Regency -- where the hotel is located, said different social services came to the site to help tenants in need.
At the time, fire marshals said guests could only stay in the motel for 30 days, but dozens of people stayed longer than the deadline.
“This was not a livable habitat,” Morgan said last month when the motel was shut down. “We saw what happened at Gold Rush (Inn) in December. I just want to put folks on notice, that there is going to be more of this, closing these places down.”
An Arlington resident, who asked not to be identified, said, “It’s the best thing that’s happened to my family in years because there is so much crime, prostitution, drug deals, traffic through the neighborhood, litter, dumping and the safety factor has been so scary for the past years.”
There were six recorded calls for service from January 2020 through May 13, 2021.
The man who said he moved in Friday also said he’s only seen maybe four to five people inside so far.