Owner Of "Last Hope" Hotel On U.S./Mexico Border Announces Plans To Demolish Premises, Gives 60-Days Notice To Low-Income, Near-Homeless Occupants (Including 20 Children) To Begin Packing Their Bags, Find Another Place to Live

In the San Ysidro section of San Diego, California, the San Diego Free Press reports:

• All occupants residing at the 40-room Gateway Inn received a 60-day termination notice on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. The hotel, located one block from the U.S.-Mexico border, is a single room occupancy (SRO) hotel known to provide units to those who might otherwise be homeless.
  
  The owner of the property, listed in public documents as Francis Lin, submitted a permit to the City of San Diego to demolish the two-story hotel, according to the San Diego Development Services Department. However, the permit – filed on Jan. 13, 2016 – has not yet been approved.
  
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  Rachel [an occupant of the Gateway Inn] explains that an older disabled gentleman and his elderly wife will be evicted. Several mothers with children will have to find new housing also, displacing about 20 children.
  
  Another occupant, Jesusa, is a school bus driver who has lived at the Gateway Inn for almost three years. Her husband was deported and she spends most of her weekends in Tijuana. The location of the Gateway Inn is important because it’s close to the border, so she can visit her husband frequently. If her car breaks down, she can also use the trolley or the bus. Schools are nearby, although there is no Walmart or grocery store in close proximity.
  
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  Tenants of the Gateway Inn pay $600 per month to rent a room. Jesusa explains that she owns a car and must pay an additional $250 per month to park her car.
  
  Rachel, whose husband is a construction worker and certified welder, was deported five years ago in Tracy, California. She says if he was able to come back to the United States, they would both get on their feet within a month. She sees him only when she can get a ride over to Tijuana because she doesn’t own a car. She wants to remain in San Ysidro and near the border, so she can remain in close to him.

For more, see Slumlord To Evict 20 San Ysidro Children By October (Owner of Gateway Inn, a last hope hotel, hands eviction notices to families, elderly).