Redevelopment Plans Frozen for Blighted West Endicott Motel

A boarded-up motel near the En-Joie Golf Course continues to be an eyesore for people who live near the property in the town of Union.

The Red Carpet Inn in West Endicott closed in 2018. The site at 749 West Main Street was sold to Rakesh Shroff of New Jersey for $325,000 the following year.

Union town supervisor Robert Mack said the owner is paying his taxes and has been responsive when there have been security issues at the old motel.

Mack told WNBF News that there's not much the town can do "as long as those things are happening."

But the supervisor said "it's a terrible eyesore and black eye to the community." Thousands of people who attend the Dick's Sporting Goods Open golf tournament every year are treated to the sight of "a boarded-up, abandoned motel."

Mack said he has had several conversations with Broome County Executive Jason Garnar about "doing something there" to deal with the blighted building. He said there's been discussion about the property possibly being purchased by the county so the motel could be torn down to make the site "shovel-ready" for a new project.

Mack said prospective developers have expressed an interest in the property for a townhouse or apartment project. But he said studies concluded it wouldn't be cost-effective to try to convert the place into long-term housing.

Garnar's office Friday said the county executive "does not have a comment about that subject at this time."

Shroff - the property owner - could not be reached on Friday to discuss what he intends to do with the old motel. But he previously told WNBF News he had a goal of remodeling the place.

Workers gutted a small section of the complex in 2022 to create a couple of "model rooms" but the project didn't move beyond that.

VIDEO: The "state-of-the-motel" on West Main Street on January 19, 2024.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.