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Since the city bought the Coliseum Inn  in late 2008 and the low-rent motel closed, calls for police service in the area have declined steeply.

In the patrol area surrounding the Coliseum Inn at 2428 High Point Road, police were called as many as 78  times in October, a recent high. So far in February, police have received only 20 calls.

“It’s a whole lot better since they closed it,” said Samantha Wells, a cashier at the Greensboro Coliseum Family gas station near the former Coliseum Inn.

Wells said women she thought were prostitutes and people who seemed high on drugs would walk past — and into — the gas station at all hours of the day and night. “It’s better because nobody’s walking up and down the street.”

In December when the motel closed, calls in the patrol area dropped to 43, according to police data. In January, there was a slight uptick to 49 calls, and by February, calls for police service were down to 20 for the first three weeks of the month.

Capt. Brian Cheek, commander of the patrol division that includes the former Coliseum Inn, said the motel attracted people involved in drugs and prostitution, and officers often had to go there to stop fights and other disputes.

“People involved in (drugs and prostitution) used that for a gathering place,” Cheek said. “We put in a lot of hours out there.”

Before it was sold, the motel itself had nearly one  police call a day. In December and January, police were called to the property only six  times in each month. In February, there have been only two calls for police help at the former motel.

The city agreed to buy the Canada Dry and Coliseum Inn properties in November  for $5.3 million. The Coliseum Inn was vacated by Dec. 13, according to the city.

The city is having asbestos removed from the former motel. City officials hope to sell the property for a new development.

The Canada Dry  property was owned by Susan Robinson, the wife of News & Record Editor John Robinson, and her brothers, W. Hardy Spence  and Royall Spence III. The family, which owned Canada Dry of Greensboro, sold its franchise to distribute soft drinks in 1998.

Contact Sonja Elmquist at 373-7090 or sonja.elmquist@news-record.com