Maples Motel hopes to preserve its history

HURON TWP. — Steve Faber is lobbying for the preservation of the Maples Motels, the business his great-grandparents started about 100 years ago.The motel, which is on Cleveland Road (U.S. 6) near Perkins Avenue and Osborn Park, has been in Faber's family for generations."My great-grandparents ran it, then my grandparents and then my parents," said Faber, one of the motel's owners. "My parents died four years ago and they were adamant and made me promise to never sell the motel."With its neon sign, advertisement for color TV and the 1958 Rambler that belonged to Faber's mother parked in the lot, the motel looks like a time capsule from a bygone American era.But preliminary recommendations for the overhaul of Cleveland Road could lead to its end, according to Faber. The Erie County Regional Planning Commission unveiled several renderings at a July meeting for improvements to the road.Faber believes a number of the plans would negatively affect his house and business. One shows a bike path going straight through his house, Faber said, and another has Cleveland Road rerouted behind his property with a roundabout."It would go behind the house and motel which would just be ridiculous," Faber said. "The sign for the motel would just be standing alone in a field."He believes there are better options to install a bike path and restructure the intersection of Perkins Avenue and Cleveland Road."There are definitely alternatives that I think would be a lot better and a lot cheaper for the state and the county then to just plow through this iconic business," Faber said. "We do very well. We have one of the highest ratings for a motel in Sandusky. We have clientele who have been coming here every year for decades."Steve Poggiali, the director of the planning commission, said the engineering firm, TranSystems, it contracted for the study works to minimize the property takings and the effects plans could have on landowners."These are just plans and there are certain things presented in plan that may never come to fruition," Poggiali said. "What gets done is dependent on what is prioritized and the funding available."The commission should get a final draft in the next couple of weeks. Any alterations to Cleveland Road would need to be approved by the Ohio Department of Transportation. But if the final plan ends up affecting Maples Motel, the state and county better prepare for a fight."I'm determined to save the motel," Faber said. "My commitment to continuing this legacy is strong and I'm proud to say this is my family business."Members of the community have already started to rally behind his cause. He said he's received messages from locals, historians and preservationists about the property."The Maples has national support, as it's one of the best examples of a well preserved Mid-Century Modern motel nationwide," said Marie Stutz, who has helped start an online campaign to save the motel.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterSteve Faber, one of the owners of the Maples Motel on Cleveland Road, hopes to prevent changes to to the road that could spell the end for his family-owned business. Faber, left, stands in front of the motel's sign with his employee Bianca Mallotti on Friday, Oct. 4.Steve Faber, one of the owners of the Maples Motel on Cleveland Road, points to an article hanging in the motel's office about his parents and the motel.Steve Faber, one of the owners of the Maples Motel on Cleveland Road, hopes to prevent changes to to the road that could spell the end for his family-owned business. The motel's iconic neon sign lit up in 2012.A map showing the different proposed plans for Cleveland Road near Maples Motel. Plan A is the roundabout. Plan B is Perkins Avenue intersection ring moved farther west at less dramatic angle with a bike path. Plan C is a new grade, new intersection and addition of a bike path that would go through Manor Motel.