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The city of Fort Worth alleges the Central Motel is a nuisance, and wants a court to force fixes.<\/p>\n
The city of Fort Worth is asking a Tarrant County court to declare an East Lancaster Avenue motel a common nuisance, and force its ownership to fix what the city alleges are years of persistent criminal activity.<\/p>\n
According to a civil suit filed on June 29<\/a>, the city alleges the owner of the Central Motel at 5800 E. Lancaster Ave. knowingly tolerated criminal activity on the property for years.<\/p>\n The city is asking the court to order Central Motel owner Haribhai Narsionhdas Patel to take steps to reduce criminal activity, improve management practices, and increase security, according to a city press release.<\/p>\n \u201cChronic criminal activity that threatens our neighborhoods will not be ignored,\u201d City Manager Jay Chapa said in the city press release<\/p>\n Property owners have a responsibility to make sure their properties don\u2019t become places where crime regularly occurs, and the city will use every legal tool at its disposal to hold property owners accountable, Chapa said.<\/p>\n Representatives for the Central Motel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Star-Telegram.<\/p>\n The motel has had multiple building code violations<\/a> and health code violations<\/a>, according to city data.<\/p>\n The city is suing under a state statute that focuses mainly criminal activity<\/a> to have the Central Motel classified as a common nuisance under state law.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s complaint chronicles years of alleged criminal activity, including narcotics offenses, prostitution, a weapons case, and one reported homicide.<\/p>\n In addition to the nuisance declaration and ordering owner Patel to stop the alleged criminal activity, the city is also asking the court to potentially appoint a court manager to oversee the fixes, and order the motel closed for one year, according to the city\u2019s complaint.<\/p>\n A hearing on the city\u2019s lawsuit has yet to be scheduled, according to Tarrant County court records.<\/p>\n Fort Worth has taken a more active role in addressing nuisance properties launching a pilot program in January<\/a> aimed at aggressively addressing problem properties with a history of criminal activity, code violations and spillover effects in the surrounding community.<\/p>\n The Central Motel was listed as a potential target for a next phase<\/a> of the pilot program, according to a June 23 City Council presentation.<\/p>\n Fort Worth city council member Jeanette Martinez, whose district includes the Central Motel, said in a text message to the Star-Telegram that her office has recognized the community concern about the property and has long hoped it would be fixed.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a Councilwoman, my foremost priority is to improve public safety across all areas of my district, whether residential or commercial,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n She expressed confidence the litigation would lead to problems with the motel being addressed, and encouraged residents to continue reporting similar problem properties to the city.<\/p>\n This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 2:06 PM.<\/p>\n