Old motel sent packing

The old motel on Newton Avenue in Orland is a stack of rubble.

Demolition crews started tearing down the Amber Light Inn this week in preparation for a new Walgreen’s store on the site.

Foreman Zach Hackett of Waterlog Construction in Orland, said the lot should be down to “clean dirt” by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Asbestos was removed from the build before demolition began. But there was not much – only about 270 square feet, Hackett said.

The rubble includes all the furniture and fixtures that were in the rooms. Much of the construction dust is from mattresses, he said.

Waterlog will recycle as much of the material as possible, sending metal to a Sacramento recycling site and the wood to Butte County, where it will turned into chips for reuse, Hackett said.

Janet  Wackerman, Orland’s public works secretary, said the demolition signals the start of construction of the drug store.

“It’s double-edged,” she said. “We’re losing a motel but gaining another retail business.”

“We’re concerned that we are less one motel; but we’re hoping things to forward for someone to put in a motel,” she said, adding that no one has stepped forward with a project proposal.

Wackerman said the city does not know when construction of the new store will begin.

Huff Construction, the general contractor, was not available for comment.