The Civic Hotel owner has initiated legal action against the City of Seattle and King County, alleging contamination issues stemming from a homeless shelter lease agreement. Nariya, who inherited the hotel from her late father, leased the property to the city and county in 2020 for use as a shelter. However, she claims that after the lease was terminated in December 2024, the city and county failed to fulfill their contractual obligation to clean and restore the premises.
In her lawsuit, Nariya references a tragic incident from 2024, where a deceased infant was discovered in the hotel, with fentanyl and methamphetamine present in their system. The infant’s mother, a tenant at the hotel, has been charged with murder. Nariya argues that the city neglected its responsibility to manage residents effectively and prevent drug use on the property.
She asserts that the hotel, which underwent full renovations in 2018 and is located across from Apple’s Seattle headquarters, is now tainted with methamphetamine and fentanyl residue, rendering it uninhabitable. Consequently, she is pursuing legal action against Seattle and King County to address the contamination issue. The lawsuit was filed in Snohomish County earlier this month.
In the legal documents, Nariya highlights the same tragic case involving the infant, reiterating her concerns about the city’s inadequate management of tenants and drug activity within the hotel. As the situation unfolds, both the city and county are shifting blame. The Seattle City Attorney’s office has admitted in a court filing that “King County failed to clean and repair damage to the premises” and acknowledged that “the City did not obtain a bid from a bio-cleaning company.”
However, the filing also states that “The City denies that the Seattle License required the City to ‘carefully supervise tenants’” and claims to lack sufficient information to confirm or deny other allegations. Purpose Dignity Action (PDA), an organization that managed the site and services during the lease, has also weighed in on the matter.
In a statement, PDA defended its management of the hotel, stating, “The Civic Hotel was a wonderful venue for low-barrier shelter work over the past few years. We regretted having to leave last December due to high leasing costs. As recently as this spring, the owners were inquiring about our potential return.”
PDA managed the site from late summer 2021 until December 2024 and mentioned that during the move-out process, there was evidence of unauthorized individuals gaining access to the premises. They expressed hope for a swift and amicable resolution to the ongoing matter.
PDA emphasized that while they enforced rules against substance use inside the building, violations did occasionally occur, similar to any hotel environment. They also stated that they took care to maintain the facility and conducted a thorough inspection with the owners before their departure, noting that the building was left in good condition, free of garbage and debris.
