CHAMPAIGN – It was a Friday afternoon, generally a time for relaxing in anticipation of the weekend.

But the residents at Gateway Studios, 1505 N. Neil St., were anything but relaxed. Rumors began spreading Thursday that the company that owns the downtrodden former hotel – which rents rooms by the day, week or month – was far behind on its utility bills.

City and AmerenIP officials confirmed on Friday that those rumors are true, that electricity will be turned off Tuesday and that residents have mere days to get out, or face living without power.

Residents, many of whom have already paid $500 to $600 rent for the month of May, were agitated at the prospect of becoming homeless. They were awaiting a 5 p.m. meeting Friday with Gateway management to find out their fate.

Among the residents was Daniel Lance, 27, who shares a hotel room with his pregnant fiancee, Amber Gaskin, and his young son.

"My girl is pregnant with twins and I have a 2-year-old boy," said Lance. "We've called hotels and we don't have no place to go.

"I go to work every day," he continued. "I try to provide for my family. If I lose this, I lose about everything."

Gateway Studios is a former Holiday Inn built decades ago. Lance's room, where Amber was resting on the bed, is a single room with a bathroom. A wall-mounted color television, a small refrigerator and a microwave for cooking are the amenities.

Next-door neighbor Larkin Johnson, 45, was another unhappy resident. He has lived at Gateway for five months with his wife, Mary Sue Bennett Johnson. He said he had paid his rent for May, $600, just a few days before.

"I've had to take two days off of work to be here, to figure out what's going on," he said. "I've lost money. That's not good for me or my wife. We find us a place that's comfortable, just to find we're getting thrown out."

Johnson said his biggest worry was the many children who live at the old motel, and a few disabled residents.

Willie Winston, 56, has been a resident at Gateway for six months. He also had just paid his rent and said he's worried about coming up with the cash to pay for another apartment or hotel.

"I don't know what I'm going to do; I don't know what direction I'm going," said Winston, who said he collects a once-a-month disability check. He suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and a heart condition.

Sue Salzman, the city of Champaign's property maintenance supervisor, said Gateway Studios owes AmerenIP more than $44,000 in gas and electricity bills dating back several months. She said her understanding was that gas was to be turned off Friday and electricity on Tuesday.

More than 100 people, including small children, are staying at the former hotel in just more than 50 rented units, she said.

City officials met late Friday afternoon with Gateway Studios management to try and make the best of a bad situation.

"We're going to identify as many resources as possible to provide shelter," said Kevin Jackson, director of the city's Neighborhood Services Department, afterwards. "Refunds are being processed for the majority of residents."

The 5 p.m. meeting finally came and Rose Touchstone, a friendly woman from Memphis, delivered the bad news to a group of about 40 residents. She works for a property management company, Blue Castle Properties, owned by the group of 15 to 20 investors, California residents, that now own Gateway Studios, her husband, John Touchstone, said.

"I want you all to do whatever you can to try to find someplace to live," she said. "We can't let you and I don't think you want to live in a room with no electricity, no air conditioning, no hot water. You need to dig down deep and figure out what you're going to do."

Touchstone said she had a list of places where residents could stay for $199 per week, and she said she was looking for cheaper options. She said she would be there all weekend.

Johnson stood up at one point and said how worried he was about "the babies and the disabled."

"We have many children here," said Touchstone. "We have a couple disabled people here. That's our main concern."

Salzman said Gateway Studios will be required by the city to follow legal procedure in evicting residents.

She said that a lack of electricity and gas are code violations and cause for the city to condemn the building. City staff typically would then issue a 10-day condemnation notice.

The notice would go to the property owner, with notification to occupants, she said. The owner must then obtain eviction paperwork from court and have residents removed from the property if they do not leave voluntarily.