Some of the evicted residents of the Eatonville motel that was condemned Friday afternoon met with Orange County officials Saturday to figure out what to do going forward.

About 60 residents were evicted from the Eatonville Home Suites Friday afternoon after repeatedly failing inspections. Inspectors said the motel had structural problems and was in danger of collapsing.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs arrived at the motel as residents were leaving to let them know that Rosen hotels will put them up temporarily. In addition, Mears Transportation has offered to bus them all to a Rosen hotel on International Drive.

The rooms will be free of charge through Monday.



Teresa Jacobs said Police Chief Gene Bernal asked the county for help in trying to house these families.

"My first thought was Harris Rosen, he is always one of those people who steps up in times of crisis," Jacobs said. "We called Harris and he said absolutely, how many rooms do you need?"

Jacobs said eight people will be housed at the hotel over the weekend. The Town of Eatonville found temporary lodgings for the rest, or they are staying with families.

On Saturday six Eatonville families met with Orange County's Families, Health and Social Services Division, which will help these families.



"There's just times when communities need to come together and deal with emergencies, and this is one of those times," Jacobs said.

After a second inspection Friday morning the Town of Eatonville once again condemned the Eatonville Home Suites on Kennedy Boulevard. About 60 residents were displaced, with hours left to leave.



Duke Energy shut the power off to the complex Friday night.



Building inspectors went room to room, taking another look at the structure of the motel.

The follow-up inspection was ordered after the people who live at the motel were upset they were being evicted. Officials said there is an electrical problem and threat of structural collapse.

The owners of the building, one of them former mayor Anthony Grant, will have to fix the building before anyone can live in it again. They will meet next week at a code enforcement hearing.

Some residents are upset because they already paid February's rent. Some say they paid as much as $800. They say they've tried to reach Grant several times, and no one has been able to get hold of him. Residents say Grant has not helped them.



We were unable to reach Grant Friday afternoon for comment.

A lot of the residents waited it out until the last minute, hoping to stay. John Watson was packing up his apartment of five years.

"This is ridiculous, we got a 48-hour notice and now all of a sudden they say we have to go," Watson said.

Watson has a place to go. He will be staying with family.

For Christine Cummings and her four kids, along with several others, they weren't sure where they will go.

"I'm depressed," Cummings said. "I don't want to live in the streets, I don't have no where to go."