CANTON TWP. – The long-vacant and former Ambassador Motel has reopened as studio apartments.
Eric Tack, who owns TRE Properties with his wife, purchased the “old, dilapidated roadside motel” for $53,000 in June 2024. Over the past two years, they’ve “gutted” and rebuilt the interior and the building’s front portion, which had been damaged by fire.
“It was in really, really, really bad shape,” Tack said.
The approximately $900,000 remodel was completed without tax incentives or grants, he said. The newly dubbed Lincoln Street Studios, located at 2901 Lincoln St. E, received its certificate of occupancy on July 6 and had four apartments leased by the following day. The motel was built in 1951, according to Stark County records.
There are 17 studio apartments, each about 300 square feet and all on one level. Two front units are slightly larger and have wheelchair-accessible, roll-in showers.
Tack said he is renting to tenants 55 or older and allows two small pets per unit. The monthly rent is $650 and includes utilities, except for electricity.
“We did a lot of things inside those units to a lot higher standard than what you would normally think you would find in a studio apartment in that price range,” he said.
The apartments feature high-efficiency air conditioning and heating, quartz countertops and induction cooktops. Lincoln Street Studios also has on-site parking, a laundry facility and 16 indoor storage units — each 5 by 9 feet.
“There was a big garage on the property there, and we converted it over to indoor, unconditioned storage,” Tack said.
He also plans to have a designated space for tenants to garden and will build an outdoor pavilion next year.
Tack said the apartments along the Lincoln Highway have already garnered significant interest, including from the Stark Community Support Network. The nonprofit’s mission is to connect community members with housing, food and mental health resources.
Toni Daniels, who is involved with the network’s community service support initiative, noticed the new housing option while passing by one day. She stopped to tour the apartments, and Tack said the nonprofit has seven potential tenants.
“There is a great need for more housing in Stark County, in the entire area,” Daniels said in an email. “Homelessness is a major problem here. We have so many abandoned houses that could be renovated to help solve this issue.”
Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323 or kelly.byer@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Former Ambassador Motel in Canton Township has new life as studio apartments
Reporting by Kelly Byer, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kelly Byer, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
