GLOCESTER – A motel owner told in November to cease and desist operations was ordered to vacate the premises in a letter this week from Building and Zoning Official Dennis Begin.
Glocester Motor Inn at 2392 Putnam Pike has been operating without a license from the town or state, and has now been deemed unsafe, according to Begin. The business is owned by GMI Investments, LLC, with communications sent to John Baffoni in Providence.
Begin notified GMI in November that multifamily buildings and apartment housing are not allowed in B-2 commercial/highway zones in town without a variance, and that the motel would also need several inspections to offer the services that are permitted: rentals of 30 days or less.
The motel, Begin said, would require a water test, fire inspections, building department inspections of each unit, and approvals from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management to continue operations.
The action followed an incident weeks earlier in which two individuals staying at the property were arrested for child endangerment. Glocester officers found evidence of drug activity in a room where an 18-month-old child had been living, and toxicology testing later confirmed the child had cocaine and fentanyl exposure, according to police.
GMI purchased the 14-unit motel from OM Sharp for $385,000 in 2022, according to town property records. The company appears to have had its business license with the Secretary of State revoked in 2023.
On Tuesday, Dec. 16, more than a month after Begin told the motel owners to cease and desist, a fire on the property reportedly displaced at least two dozen residents, with one also suffering burns.
The latest notice, sent on Thursday, Jan. 29, references that fire, noting at the time, one of the tenants affected had just moved in.
“You have been operating illegally, as you had been told per my authority, after the fire that there was to be no occupancy until you became compliant,” the communication, marked “final notice of violation,” notes. “This property will be deemed unsafe as of the date of this violation letter.”
“Please vacate the premises until the original violation of November 12 is in compliance,” Begin wrote.
Glocester Police Chief Joseph DelPrete told NRI NOW on Friday, Jan. 30 that his department has not been sent a copy of the notice or asked to intervene.
I live in Chepachet and have never seen this place. Where exactly is it located?
Way up towards the CT border.