Possible Sale Of Landmark Motel Would Leave Permanent Residents With No Home
HAMPTON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- Buskey's Motel on William Penn Highway isn't exactly the Ritz, but in its heyday it was a respite for tired travelers in the 1950s when Americans fell in love with their cars.
Over the past two years, under Chris Perkins' management, the place has changed from a no-tell motel to a comfortable, permanent residence.
"We have a cancer nurse," said Perkins, the motel manager. "We have a man that works with special needs' children, we have some contractors."
But this familiar landmark may go the way of the Edsel, sold to make way for a CVS Pharmacy on Route 8 to re-locate.
Perkins is worried about what will happen to her vulnerable tenants who call it home.
"Lost their spouses, is going through a bad divorce, and they come in here and they feel at home," said Perkins. "They feel safe."
Starting at $37.45 a night to $450 a month for clean, well-kept rooms, more than half of Buskey's 22 rooms are long-term rentals.
"It will be hard to find other resources that we can put people in quickly," says Natalie Klaum, of the North Hills Community Outreach Center. "Buskey's has often been helpful to them, and other agencies, in providing emergency shelter. Just call and say, 'Hey, do you have an opening?' and then we work out the payment arrangements."
Hampton Township's manager says final approval for the developer should come by the end of January.
A member of the Narsimha Reddy family, the owners of the motel, said she couldn't understand what all the fuss was about, selling Buskey's, but refused to say anything else.
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