Built in 1940, the Davis Motel has long been a mainstay for overnight guests in Garretson. However, this past December, Ben and Beth Aaker, together with a silent partner, bought the motel from Sharon Davis, and have spent the past several months remodeling and updating the building.
“We’re not hoteliers,” said Ben Aaker. “We invest in real estate.”
They tend to find multi-family buildings in smaller and medium sized communities in the area that are in need of repair, or the owners are ready to move into something else, and then update the facilities and rent them out. However, when the Aakers bought Palisades Heights apartments over by Zion Lutheran Church two years ago, they fell in love with the community.
“We noticed there wasn’t a lot of short-term stay options in the area,” said Ben. “We’d get calls from people looking for places where they could stay 1 month, 6 months, or a week.”
Davis Before Davis After
The Davis Motel came up for sale last year, and it wasn’t too hard of a decision for them to buy the facility, even though it would be a slightly new venture.
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