Tucked off the side of Route 40 in Ellicott City is the unassuming Brown’s Motel. Roughly 30 bungalow-style motel rooms sit in the shape of a horseshoe, with the natural beauty of Patapsco Valley State Park in its backyard.

The motel dates back to the early 1940s, with claims that soldiers used them as barracks during World War II. Recently it’s been a place that many call home for about $350 a week.

But the motel’s cluster of buildings may soon be razed, leaving more than a dozen long-term guests, or residents, scrambling for a place to live. Residents have been told to vacate the premises by the end of Friday, just as the holiday season is getting underway.

Notices posted in the motel’s office said it was permanently closing on Dec. 10, explaining, “Due to the economic slump and the property is no longer able to aford [sic] cost to stay in business.”

All utilities and services will be turned off Tuesday, the notice states. It also says residents have until Tuesday to move out, but then the date got bumped up to Friday.

The swift effort to close a source of affordable housing in Howard County concerns County Council Chair Liz Walsh, whose district includes Brown’s Motel. She only recently became aware of the motel’s imminent closure and has been on site all week speaking with residents.

“I’m not trying to be in their business. I just want to make sure they’re OK and they have a place to go and can get there,” Walsh said Thursday. “Today, I talked to a couple new people, and they have a place to go.”

But not everyone knows where they’re going. They include 71-year-old Virginia Garber, who moved into Brown’s Motel in October.

“I love this place, it’s beautiful here,” Garber said. “I love Howard County, I don’t want to leave.”

Garber and some other residents don’t have personal transportation. Garber walks to her bank, a nearly 2.5-mile trek roundtrip. She receives food every two weeks from a local church.

County Executive Calvin Ball’s office is aware of the situation and is assisting residents in need through county departments and nonprofit partners, said Safa Hira, director of communications for the office.

“We are ready to assist anyone in need of housing assistance affected by the closure of Brown’s Motel,” Hira said. She encouraged residents to contact the Community Action Council of Howard County at 410-313-6440 immediately if they need help.

The Community Action Council sent a team out to interview residents Wednesday. Known as CAC, the nonprofit offers help to individuals, families and children through housing, food, weatherization and other assistance programs.

“We stepped in to provide housing assistance in the form of eviction prevention. One would argue that this is eviction. … It’s a little vignette of what’s happening in the housing crisis in Howard County,” said Tracy Broccolino, the nonprofit’s president.

“Folks are living here because they cannot afford housing and the cost of living in Howard County,” Broccolino added.

The nonprofit is working to help the motel’s long-term residents by providing financial assistance with a security deposit or moving expenses if needed, or even a drive to their new home.

“We want to keep them from becoming homeless,” Broccolino said.

Don Reuwer, a local developer, has had the Brown’s Motel site under contract for three years, though he hasn’t closed on the property. Reuwer envisions “a new modern apartment building” that includes affordable housing units.

The county is currently reviewing the plan, which would include 89 senior apartments, Hira said.

A large sign at the motel’s entrance states that the property will be demolished on Sunday, Dec. 15.

AJ Patel, the property manager of Brown’s Motel for the past three years, said residents received one month’s notice that they needed to vacate. He said he referred residents to Budget Plaza Motel, located off Ritchie Highway in Brooklyn Park. It’s about a 25-minute drive, but many residents don’t have access to reliable transportation.

“I’m telling them a simple thing” — to move out, Patel said while on site Thursday. “They don’t get it.”

Broccolino said residents were given notice barely a week before Thanksgiving.

Reuwer said the current motel owner has had three years to assist residents in relocating.

“In my opinion, the units are really on the verge of being nonhabitable,” Reuwer said. “In 1950, it was a charming little place and in 2024, not so much.”

Walsh, the council chair, said Brown’s Motel “is really amazing. It’s basically a tiny house identity that we can never afford to build in today’s economy and now we’re going to tear it down.”

Thomas Rodgers, 60, managed Brown’s Motel for the former owners before he was let go three years ago. He moved out of the property manager’s quarters on site, but returned as a resident about a year and a half ago.

He said he would miss living a stone’s throw away from the state park. He enjoys walking to the nearby pond, where he likes to sit on a bench and watch the sunlight glisten on the water.

Rodgers and his wife Loretta, 64, are moving to Pennsylvania to live with their daughter and their 13th grandchild, named after Loretta, who recently joined their family.

“There’s a silver lining everywhere,” Rodgers said.

Despite his frustrations, Patel, who lives on the motel property with his family, said “We’re like a family here. Sometimes we fight, but we also hang out. We have a fire pit.”

Some long-time residents say otherwise.

The community bonfires stopped when Patel took over, Rodgers said.

Patel also said he cleaned up the motel’s surroundings. Rodgers said he took care of that when he ran the place years ago.

“The parking lot was scary then,” Rodgers said. “I cleared it out and next thing you know we had families living here.”

Suzanne Rosenthal, 69, has lived at Brown’s Motel for the past four years with her partner, who uses a wheelchair.

“It’s sad,” she said. “I would probably be here until the day I died if he [Patel] didn’t kick us out.”

For now, Rosenthal’s plan is to go to the motel on Ritchie Highway. But she needs a ride to get there.