Hays Post

A highly visible Hays property that has been labeled by officials as a eyesore is coming down this week.

Demolition of the Ambassador Inn, formerly a Ramada property, began last week with interior work, with heavy machinery beginning to bring the structure down this week.

The hotel, which was once a leisure hotspot in its glory days as a Holiday Inn Holidome, has fallen into disrepair in recent years, with numerous code violations recorded.

With the hotel facility gone, the property is expected to be more marketable.

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“There’s definitely some interest,” said Aaron White, executive director of the Ellis County Coalition on Economic Development. “Two out-of-town parties — developers from the Kansas City area — and a couple of locals.”

The property is roughly 5 acres, White said, and is in a highly trafficked area.

“It’s a good location, on Vine Street, close to the interstate,” White said. “It’s a pretty good redevelopment spot.”

The developers who have shown interest have discussed the possibility of a general commercial project that would include retail and restaurants. The possibility of a new hotel on the property also exists.

The property, owned by Joshua Joseph, has been through several owners through the years. Joseph owns several hotels in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, under a long list of LLCs, generally similar in structure to the Hays Ambassador Inn — many former Holiday Inn or Ramada convention centers with reviewers at many of the locations finding the hotels to be in disrepair.

City of Hays officials have publicly commented on the poor condition of the facility, going so far as to request bids for redevelopment of the property several years ago.

The sale of the facility to two local developers fell through last year.