The serving of an administrative warrant to the Bush House Hotel in Quakertown last month led borough officials to condemn the boarding house.

            After going through approximately half the rooms with an exterminating company in October, municipal officials determined the only way to get rid of extensive infestation was to totally evacuate it and "take the building down to its bare studs," according to Douglas Wilhelm, the borough's building code official and zoning officer. He added that chemicals and heat would be required to remedy the situation.

            Borough Manager Scott McElree identified the volume of pests in the structure as mind-boggling and described its condition as deplorable.  "The degree of infestation would shock your conscience," McElree said Wednesday morning.

            Last week, the borough forced 64 residents to exit the structure, located at 200 West Broad St. During the Nov. 10 condemnation process, municipal officials discovered an unprecedented infestation at the property and other unsafe and unsanitary conditions.

            Municipal officials spent approximately eight hours helping residents vacate the 64,000 square foot facility. McElree says he spoke to a female resident with a bug on her person. He claimed bug bites were also visible on her body.

             Conditions at the boarding house with 100 living areas were deemed consistent with what Quakertown officials and first responders have seen over the last several years when entering this building, according to a news release posted two days later on the municipal website.

            On its website, municipal officials described the condemnation as a "last resort, when it became absolutely clear that the owner of the hotel is completely unwilling to voluntarily spend the funds and institute the work necessary to bring the hotel up to a minimum level of habitability, despite the deplorable and dangerous conditions its residents are living in."

            Quakertown officials provided the property owner – identified as Thomas Skiffington, of MT Estate RTY LLC – with an extensive list of 11 code violations that must be addressed to bring the hotel into compliance with the borough code.

            In a news conference held a few hours after the evacuation, Wilhelm said the structure must meet all requirements – including total compliance with all fire codes and standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 – for the safety of everyone.

           Extermination of the entire structure would take approximately 30 days, according to the manager. He estimated the cost of a total renovation at millions of dollars and the timing as protracted.  "The owner let the problems go for too long," McElree said. "He just ignored them." 

            The infestation by German Roaches and bed bugs extends well beyond any single room and into the common areas, as well as into the fundamental infrastructure of the building, including electric, plumbing, and fire protection facilities, according to a Nov. 12 news release.

            Under the terms of the condemnation, the property owner will have 10 days to respond with specific remedies for each violation, according to Wilhelm. He said during the news conference that failure to comply will lead to daily fines until the repairs are completed properly.

            Skiffington – the owner of RE/MAX 440, located at 701 W. Market St. in Perkasie – did not return a message left Tuesday on his office phone. As of Wednesday morning, Quakertown officials had yet to receive a remedy plan, according to McElree. 

            Wilhelm said a number of violation orders have been sent to the property owner. He related that last week that borough officials entered the building for a similar issue.

            Wilhelm said the owner repaired 20 to 30 percent of the building damaged in a 2018 fire to "minimal standards." Municipal officials condemned 40 percent of the building damaged in the blaze, according to McElree. The zoning officer said during the Nov. 10 news conference that the borough's emergency responders were recently instructed not to enter the building.  "It's just too hazardous," he said.

            In July, EMS providers were called to the boarding house for a woman with an infection in her stomach. Wilhelm reported the infection oozed and the woman had bug bites on her. The code enforcement officer said she died the following day. However, he could not say if the conditions in the building led to her death.

            Skiffington attempted to sell the building earlier this month. He placed it on the market on Nov. 3 with an asking price of $5.695 million. It remained there for seven days, said a source familiar with the situation.