Lafayette shuts down second motel property, citing crime

The Plantation Motor Inn is the second Evangeline Thruway motel property to be ordered to close in the span of just 24 hours. Lafayette Consolidated Government announced Friday afternoon that the Plantation Motor Inn, a beleaguered motel on the Evangeline Thruway, has been ordered to close 'following years of documented criminal activity and serious public safety concerns at the property.' It's the second such court order in 24 hours, after the closure of the Express Inn, another problem-riddled property on the Thruway, left residents scrambling for a place to stay. 'They could have gave us a warning,' one of the former Express Inn residents, single mother Renee Brasseux, told The Current Thursday afternoon, as she struggled to find a place for herself and her two sons to stay, after being told she had to leave on just a few hours notice. 'It's not right.' 'When will it be the time for Northside?' — school board member questions career center funding Northside representatives cast the two dissenting votes on a proposal to use rainy-day funds for the construction of a career center at the old Comeaux High. When The Current spoke to residents at the Plantation Motor Inn Friday morning, they said they had no idea a closure might be imminent. Unlike residents at the Express Inn, current Plantation Motor Inn residents will be allowed to remain at the hotel for the remainder of their booked stay, up to 45 days. The motel may not accept new guests or enter into new rental agreements, according to the court order. 'When property owners exploit some of our most vulnerable residents while serious criminal activity is allowed to persist around them, that is unacceptable,' Lafayette Mayor-President Monique B. Boulet said in Friday's press release. 'This is difficult work, and it takes all of us,' the mayor-president stated further. 'Our community deserves safe neighborhoods. Our people deserve safe, stable places to call home. And we will continue working together to deliver both.' From 2023 through August 17, 2026, Lafayette Police recorded 2,073 calls for service and 247 reports associated with the property. In November 2023, a woman was killed at the motel. Other law enforcement calls over the past three years included drug-related crimes, prostitution-related activity, and the seizure of 13 firearms and narcotics with an estimated street value exceeding $114,000, according to Friday's release. Both managers of the Plantation Motor Inn have also been arrested on drug-related charges, the release stated further. 'Everyone in our community deserves safe, decent and affordable housing. We also realize that leaving a home, regardless of circumstance, can be incredibly difficult,' Acadiana Regional Coalition on Homelessness & Housing Executive Director Elsa Dimitriadis said in the press release. 'Our commitment is to walk alongside the residents affected by this transition, helping them navigate available resources and identify safe, stable housing options that meet their needs,' Dimitriadis stated further. 'We want each person to know they are not facing this alone.' Lafayette's housing options for low-income renters are extremely constrained, making motels like the Express Inn and Plantation Motor Inn housing of last resort for many residents.