SOLD! Courtesy Hotel's New Owners Plan for D-Day

It's the final countdown for the

The owners of the infamous establishment handed over the keys Thursday to the developer, who erected a fence around the property the next morning and will now start planning for the moment many West Hempstead residents have been waiting for - D-Day. That is, Demolition Day.

Rosalie Norton, president of the West Hempstead Community Support and Civic Association, announced Thursday evening that the sale of the Courtesy has been finalized. Mill Creek Residential, who had entered into a purchasing agreement with the hotel's owners, had been waiting for weeks for the banks to approve the paperwork. 

In early January, in preparation for the sale, the owners of the Courtesy Hotel shut down the place and boarded up the entrance, but scrawled the words "temporarily closed" on the outside.

As of Feb. 10 though, Mill Creek now owns the property and plans to schedule the demolition of the hotel soon, according to Norton.

In a statement sent out to members of the community, Norton said, "The hotel will forever be gone from our community."
Mill Creek plans to erect an upscale, market rate 150-unit apartment complex in its place. Learn more about the development .

It's been a long road for Norton, the Civic and several residents who have been fighting for this day for over a decade.

Norton said, "After two Mother's Day rallies, countless meetings, over 3,000 letters and signed petitions, West Hempstead residents can take pride in the efforts they made to revitalize an area of our community which has been a hotbed of trouble and blight. "

Patch will continue to provide updates regarding the demolition and plans for the site.