Seaway Hotel owner has plan for repairs; Duluth City Council to consider appeal of condemnation

The odds that residents of Lincoln Park's Seaway Hotel won't be forced from their homes seem to be improving.

Rick Caya, the owner of the hotel, has teamed up with a Minnesota housing fund to help make emergency repairs to his building, which the city of Duluth had condemned for human habitation, a move that threatened to close the business and to displace 70-or-so mostly low-income residents.

The building has a leaky roof, and heavy rains earlier this summer led to extensive damage, prompting concerns about the hotel's fire safety, electrical systems and mold.

Keith Hamre, Duluth's director of planning and construction services, advised city councilors Thursday that he hopes to have an agreement in hand by Monday. On that day, the council is scheduled to hear Caya's appeal of a decision by Duluth's Board of Building Appeals to uphold the condemnation of his building. But if a mutually agreeable plan to make timely repairs to the hotel can be drawn up by Monday, Hamre said the city will put all condemnation plans on hold.

Councilor Garry Krause said that he would support an agreement only if it came "with iron-clad safeguards."

The Seaway Hotel is in Duluth's 4th District, which Krause represents, and he said: "This particular location has been a problem for some time now, and I've developed low faith in the property owner."

Unless repairs are made promptly, Krause warned that residents and neighbors would be unacceptably endangered.

Hamre assured Krause that any agreement with Caya will spell out a clear timeline as well as requirements for property management training and regular reviews.