‘It’s heartbreaking’: Notorious Myrtle Beach motel tells residents it’s closing down
“Hell no we won’t go.”
Residents of the Aquarius Motel learned Wednesday night they had a week to find a new place to live. They spent Thursday fighting back.
Two large banners hung over the railing of one of the buildings at the downtown landmark as a few dozen residents tried to tell management they didn’t appreciate what they dubbed an illegal eviction.
With just weeks to go for the holiday season, they say the motel told them to get out by the end of next week. They were only given a one-page note saying they had a week to leave because the motel was closing.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Cortney Walters. “It’s this close to Christmas, and I have two small children.”
For many residents, the news stung twice. Many of them also worked at the facility in maintenance, housekeeping and the front desk. The closure meant not only are they losing their housing, but their jobs as well.
Now, in a week, they have to find both.
The owner of the Aquarius Motel — which includes several buildings on two city blocks — is listed as George Trakas, who died in August, according to an obituary. His daughter, who residents say took over for him, did not return a voicemail left on a number listed for her in time for this report to talk about the eviction and if the property has been sold.
Questions remain on if the decision is legal and if the residents have to vacate without a month’s notice.
Who lives at the Aquarius?
Walters, her two children and her boyfriend Robert Dunn have lived at the building at Chestnut Street and 12th Avenue North since July. Walters also worked the front desk and her pay was taken to cover the weekly rent of their room. Dunn worked maintenance on and off for the motel.
Wednesday evening, a front desk manager came to their door to ask for their office key, Walters said. Once she gave it over, the manager gave her a letter detailing the closure.
“Where we go next?” Walters rhetorically asked. “We have no clue.”
Dunn said they have to see if they had legal options. But, he noted, moving wasn’t going to be easy. He said if they could afford to move somewhere long ago, they would have.
“If we had somewhere to go, we wouldn’t have stayed at that shithole,” Dunn said.
Residents told The Sun News about learning they need to vacate and the ongoing maintenance problems at the complex. One reported not having working heat. Dunn said if someone flushes a toilet in another room, their sink backs up.
Roger Strickland said he lived at the building for the past four or five months and paid $169 per week in rent. Wednesday morning he paid his rent for the week, only to learn hours later he was being kicked out. He said he was disappointed and upset by the decision.
“It’s kind of a struggle right now,” he said.
Mikey Thomas lived and worked at the complex and learned Wednesday he had to find a new place to live. He described it as residents being put out on the streets.
“What are we supposed to do now,” Thomas said.
Thursday became a day of trying not only to find a new place to live, but filing for unemployment, Thomas said. The unemployment money will help cover the cost of the new home.
“I have no clue what I’m going to do,” he said.
Ryan Rembert has faced the struggle of being evicted from the Aquarius. He lives in a separate building that is part of the motel across the street from Walters, Dunn and the others. In October, management came to his room to say they were closing that building and he had to leave.
He moved into the motel in April and worked in the area, but he lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic and had no source of income. He said he talked to ownership, which said they were willing to work with him.
Days later, the owners tried to remove him and called the police, Rembert said. He showed the officers that he lived in the motel for more than 30 days and couldn’t be evicted without the legal notice.
For the past month, Rembert has been the only person who has lived in his building. Others have left or moved across the street — to the building where residents were told Wednesday to leave.
He said he complained about his water and now management has turned off his hot water for the last few weeks.
Despite the difficulties, Rembert says he has no plans to leave his building without the owners going through the legal process.
Rembert said he was “appalled” to learn the other building was being evicted as well. He noted the removal comes as the pandemic continues and people might not quickly find a place to live.
“Not everybody can move on a moments notice,” Rembert said.
Where is the Aquarius Motel?
The Aquarius multi property is in downtown Myrtle Beach from Mr. Joe White Avenue to 12the Avenue North and between Withers Alley and Chester Street. The street sits just one block over from beach resorts and is dotted with dilapidated buildings and vacant buildings in need of repair. The motel is known by many as a haven for drugs, prostitution and other criminal activity.
Myrtle Beach police say they were called to the complex about 500 times so far in 2020. There were 110 calls for service at the building where the residents say they learned Wednesday they had to leave.
In 2018, Myrtle Beach officers responded to a shooting at the motel. There have also been numerous reports about drug activity at the complex. City officials also discussed trying to improve downtown through targeting motels that had chronic public safety problems.
Aquarius Motel employees previously spoke to The Sun News about the issues and trying to clean-up the problems.
“It’s not easy,” Anita Sunday said in 2018 when she was the motel’s corporate manager. “It’s very expensive, and the area that we are in is very difficult because of all the homeless and prostitutes and drug dealers.”
Earlier this year, the Aquarius went a step further and joined with other motels to sue Myrtle Beach for their perceived lack of help in cleaning up the problems.
Is assistance available for residents?
The motels argued in the lawsuit that law enforcement refused to remove problem tenants without the businesses filing eviction paperwork in court. The motels say they are not landlords with tenants and are motels that pay the county’s accommodations tax.
The suit remains active in Horry County court.
It’s that distinction that could matter as those classified as tenants have additional protections under South Carolina code.
South Carolina’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not apply to “transient occupancy in a hotel, motel, or other accommodations subject to the sales tax on accommodations,” the act states, though a 1994 opinion published by the S.C. Attorney General’s Office held that someone renting for a period of 90 consecutive days or more would not be considered transient.
Mark Fessler, housing unit head for SC Legal Services, said it’s an issue that’s never been expressly decided in South Carolina, but he noted that state law appears to allow a landlord to only give seven days notice if the rental agreement explicitly states the agreement is week to week.
Aquarius residents say they are exploring their legal options. But, many said they would have just preferred to have more notice before they had to leave. Many are now scrambling to avoid homelessness.
Kathy Jenkins, executive director of New Directions of Horry County, said their shelters are currently full, and anyone needing assistance would have to be placed on their waiting list. She advised them to call 843-945-4902.
Joey Smoak, executive director of Eastern Carolina Housing Organization, advised those needing assistance to go to their website, echousing.org, or call them at 843-213-1798 to complete an assessment.
ECHO has received additional funding through federal CARES Act grants to reduce and prevent homelessness, and these displaced renters would likely qualify for assistance, though there is a lengthy list of others seeking assistance, and they provide that assistance based on a federally mandated priority list.
This story was originally published December 4, 2020 at 10:00 AM.
