City will pay $67,000 for private security to secure site; abandoned property has been a liability for years, including $140,000 in fines
Medford City Council members on Wednesday voted to authorize city staff to initiate the process of eminent domain to push forward toward a solution to an abandoned, blighted former Ramada Inn that has been the subject of fire calls, illegal squatting and at least one reported overdose death off Biddle Road in North Medford.
The former hotel, renovated in 2021 to serve as fire survivor housing in the aftermath of the 2020 fires, has been a continuing problem for the city and local law enforcement and emergency crews.
On Wednesday, the council authorized payment of up to $67,000 to contract for 90 days’ worth of 24-hour private, on-site security to address illegal occupancy and crime at the blighted property that is surrounded by open-hole fences.
The former hotel, dubbed the Loring Shelter in 2021 — after developer Sean Keys received some $70 million in state funds to renovate several local hotel properties as transitional fire survivor housing — shuttered in 2025 due to ongoing mismanagement and safety issues. Keys has since come under scrutiny as he faces numerous property foreclosures and other civil litigation for a number of his properties around the state.
Since closure of the Loring, the property has been subject to frequent fires and crime related to illegal occupancy, drug use and vandalism inside the old hotel, as reported by the Rogue Valley Times in January.
City, police and fire officials have voiced ongoing concern about perpetual issues with the property and have fined Keys more than $140,000 for building and fire code violations. The latest report of a structure fire this week turned out to be a cooking fire inside a makeshift fire pit in the property’s courtyard. Neighbors report dozens of illegal occupants were seen leaving from and entering the property each day.
Attempt to mitigate
City officials reported difficulty working with Keys and ordered that he provide 24-hour on-site security following “a substantial operation to clear the building involving multiple city departments as well as private contractors” in January. It was a daylong operation resulting in the exodus of 70 to 90 people from the structure.
Keys briefly contracted for service with Invictus Security but discontinued payments. Invictus owners continued service, despite reported nonpayment, for a handful of months, through May 2026, until the security firm could no longer do so.
Illegal occupants, known as squatters, converged on the property within hours of security being discontinued, Invictus officials told the Times last month. City officials said calls for police and fire service increased exponentially, including numerous overdoses and at least one death, following discontinued security.
City officials move forward
City council members met in a joint study session with planning commission members Sept. 30 to discuss the property and directed staff to gather information for seizing the property through eminent domain, and to gather cost estimates for providing — on the city’s dime — 24-hour security.
City Attorney Eric Mitton on Wednesday said council members’ authorization to use eminent domain would be helpful for staff. However, a handful of other alternatives were still being considered. Mitton said multiple local realtors had contacted the city about acquiring the property.
Mitton said there were “some things I want to run down. I feel that having this authorization on the books may help facilitate those discussions, but I’m not going to go ahead and actually pull the trigger and file something without at least some sort of additional discussion.”
Council Member Nick Card said he had also received calls from “interested parties.”
“I think there’s some exciting possibilities for this property, but I think what we cannot go on is the wish and prayer that something happens and this gets turned into something,” Card said.
“We must continue to move forward. We must be prepared to exercise every resource and everything that’s available to us,” the councilor said. “This is a hugely blighted property. We must do our duty to the public to bring this under control. … Hopefully that wish and prayer can come true and some things can happen in the mean time, but I’m absolutely in support of this.”
Of the eminent domain process, Card told Mitton, “I hope this is a hammer that you can use to get us to another resolution.”
Council Member John Quinn voiced frustration that Keys received tens of millions in state grant dollars and that the property had become a public safety hazard.
“There are some people that don’t really understand the details and seem to think we’re cleaning up a mess we made. We’re cleaning up a mess Salem made that’s in our town and now it’s become untenable,” Quinn said.
Mitton pointed out that Keys, last year, had moved the property under joint ownership of eight separate LLCs, instead of only his Fortify Holdings. Mitton said a bankruptcy process by any of the LLCs could result in a stay of legal proceedings.
Private security
A second vote by the council on Wednesday authorized funding 24-hour security; a 90-day emergency contract with the prior site provider, Invictus, to be followed by a competitive process, allowing other providers to bid for the contract.
Council President Jessica Ayres urged the city to file a lien on the property for security costs and fines, which Mitton said might be difficult to recoup. Ayres said she wanted the city to “have a seat at the table” in terms of the property’s future. Mitton said he would file a lien.
Seven of eight council members all voted in favor of the two measures related to the property, while Council Member Garrett West abstained during both votes.
Other local properties connected to Keys
Other local properties, which remain in operation, include three additional former hotel properties; The Inn at the Commons (The Merrick); America’s Best Value Inn (The Jackson); and Econo Lodge (The Roxy). City officials said last week they had no reason to believe “there would be any imminent change to the other properties” in connection to the situation with the Loring.
Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.
Source: rv-times.com
