America’s Best Value Inn closing in La Crosse causes problems for tenants

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WEAU) - As of this morning, the America’s Best Value Inn on the north side of La Crosse is closed, leaving many people scrambling. This America’s Best Value Inn has been home to monthly residents for years.

However, a month ago, those residents were told to leave by 11am on September 14th.

Payton Feyen was one of the tenants who had to work fast to pack up this morning

“We are last minute scrambling, packing and moving everything out as fast as we can. It’s extremely difficult. They gave us 30 days to drop everything, find a place to live without any more of a notice than that. My partner and I, we got lucky. Yesterday, someone offered a room in their apartment for us. We had nowhere to go. We were going to stay in this camper,” says Feyen.

While Feyen is upset about having to leave, she is also thankful that she wont have to spend another day at the hotel.

“They have roaches here, they have mice here, they have bedbugs here. It’s disgusting. And these rooms are just junk. I’m happy this place is going, but I’m not happy with the way the owners and some of the managers treat us here,” says Feyen.

The former tenants aren’t the only ones with mixed feelings about the hotel’s closure.

“I think we want to see folks in long term housing and in apartments and things, but it was certainly fulfilling a need for people that needed shelter and needed a stable place to stay. Any time that there’s not that available any longer in our community certainly it’s difficult. It’s difficult for people to find resources available. And when you do find something that works and then it doesn’t any longer, that can be really challenging,” says Couleecap Housing and Community Services Department Director Becky Koske.

For the tenants who can’t find a place to go, Couleecap is a non-profit organization that provides assistance for those struggling to find housing in La Crosse. Koske provides some options for those looking for somewhere to go.

“Certainly looking at the emergency shelter options that are available and definitely visiting the reach center as well. That’s a place downtown in la Crosse on 11th street that folks can step in to and talk to somebody that might be able to help them with a housing search, help them look for other housing options or different things that they may need during this time where housing is unstable,” says Koske.

According to Kwik Trip’s Vice President of External Relations John McHugh, the land has not officially been sold by the owners, but there have been discussions about selling the property to Kwik Trip.

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