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NEDERLAND — The Villa Motel’s stay on Nederland Avenue is no more.

It does not sound like it will be missed.

“Thank you,” Councilman Emmett Hollier said. “I appreciate you getting that eyesore off Nederland Avenue and the efforts it took to do that.”

Councilman Talmadge Austin said the motel demolition was necessary.

“It had to go away; I applaud yall on that. I really do,” he said. “That was a great move and I think that (site will turn into) a viable business, whatever it may be.”

Hollier and Austin made their statements this week during discussion and updates with Nederland Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Kay DeCuir.

The EDC, which owns the property, plans to have a “for sale” sign posted at the lot by Friday. The site, 1132 Nederland Ave., is located near the intersection with Twin City Highway.

The EDC will start accepting purchasing bids as soon as the for sale sign is posted.

Some have already reached out with purchasing information.

“We’re not going to sell it and not know what is going to go there,” DeCuir said. “How much do they plan to put in to improvements? What is the plan to bring to the community? How many jobs? Things like that. I’m going to present all of them to the (Nederland Economic Development Corporation) board, like you submit for bids, on a certain day and time, probably at the May board meeting.”

According to DeCuir, the EDC board will vote on which bid to accept.

She said board members want a project that brings in jobs and is best for the community.

“We’ve got some that have reached out to us already that would start pretty soon, but I can’t promise them anything,” she said. “It’s got to be fair to everybody at the same time.”

The EDC is looking to make a fairly quick decision on selling the property in an effort to return it to the public tax rolls.

Background

The Nederland Economic Development Corporation purchased the building and land it sits on for $300,000 from ZBC Realty Specialists Trust and received city council approval to spend an additional $31,858 with Salenga Construction for demolition.

Another $12,875 was approved for asbestos abatement via Inland Environmental.

DeCuir said the EDC is not looking to make a profit in selling the location but simply recoup funds already spent while fostering economic growth in Nederland.

The location is .32 of an acre, or 14,000 square feet, and is zoned commercial, meaning apartments or duplexes are not development options.