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Isolated location, but very cool. Too bad.Quote:
Omni Hotels have decided to leave Detroit. The company says if they can’t sell the Omni Detroit Hotel and River Place by October 12th they will close down.
The 108 room hotel has been a riverside fixture for more than a decade.
....Kboudi they’re trying to help 76 employees find other jobs
[[Copyright 2010 WWJ Radio. All Rights Reserved.)
Also, Hilton Garden Inn's owners have defaulted on their 25 million dollar loan and are being sued.
hmm... hopefully some independent outfit will take over..
Wasn't the Detroit Hilton Garden Inn developed by John Ferchill? Does he still have an ownership interest?
Amazed the Omni held on as long as it did. Even though the rooms were well maintained, the common areas, restaurant/bar, etc. were not. I always thought this hotel needed an outdoor pool. It had the grounds and could have differentiated itself from the other "downtown" properties. It would make a really nice retirement home with the large guestrooms, riverfront setting, etc.
It's great that it's closing for all us out-of-towners who can go to hotwire or priceline and be sure they won't get stuck with the Omni. Believe it or not, Priceline still rates it a 4* hotel.
Oct 12th..........what da hell? I just booked a room at the Omni for Oct 7- Oct 14. Think I should cancel? How is the area around the St Regis and Courtyard by Marriott [[DT) these days?
Thanks a bunch,
Leticia
Courtyard Marriott on Jefferson is top notch. Been that way for several years now.Quote:
Originally Posted by LeticiasWeb
Hello Leticia:
St. Regis was put into receivership in February 2009 by ShoreBank of Chicago and on August 20, 2010 Shore Bank was closed by regulators. But I'm sure it is still open for business.
Here is a link to a Crains article discussing the challenges for hotels in the Detroit marketplace and provides a list of what they call "Hotels In Trouble.''
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...UB01/308299993#
Hope this gives you some guidance in making a reservation.
Just checked the price for the St Regis and rooms are going for $47.00 a night. Marriott about $159.00 a night. I take it the area around St Regis has gone to shit and/or the hotel has.
Last few times I was in Detroit, I didn't have a chance to go DT.
I'll call the Omini in the morning to see what's going on.
Bunches of thanks,
Leticia
PS
Packman, thanks for the link, I'll check it out.
The Regis is indeed open. The area surrounding is fine - New Center is actually rather busy throughout the day, however if you need transportation downtown that could be an issue - not so sure how reliable the St Regis shuttle is. That said, I have no idea about the status inside the St Regis.
You can always try priceline. I've scored the Marriott at the RenCen for $70 several times, and the Holiday Inn Express, which is actually pretty nice, for $40 on a couple of ocassions.
Also -
As I understand it, there is a good chance the pending deal will go through - the hotel will just no longer remain an Omni. Closure is only of the already pending deal fails, so it is not as if they dont have a buyer in place
Too bad. It has great boutique hotel qualities. I would think clever management and marketing could make it work. When asked for places to stay in Detroit, the Inn on Ferry and the Omni were always my first two recommendations. Once the riverwalk is completed it will be even more enhanced. Its river side vistas,he converted Parke Davis lofts and surrounding area are very nice. Look for someone else to take a run at it.
How the hell is this place having trouble!?Quote:
Originally Posted by bailey
If you can't make a hotel profitable or be able to manage moneys to pay off your loan in that area you need to not run a business!
To Bailey:
Answered my own post [[#3) by reading the Detroit News this morning - the Hilton Garden Inn went to foreclosure sale last week.
http://detnews.com/article/20100909/...tel-in-Detroit
Article quotes:
"The Hiltonhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adT...lass_10x10.gif Garden Inn Detroit Downtown was sold in a foreclosure auction for $19 million last week, and the new owner has filed a lawsuit against the former owner -- who is the Cleveland developer behind the $200 million renovation of the Westin Book Cadillac."
"The lawsuit says the Ferchill team has an outstanding balance totaling $24.5 million on its loan, including fees and penalties. Wells Fargo and Capmark want the Ferchill officials to pay off the $5.5 million gap that the $19 million foreclosure sale price a week ago Thursday didn't cover, according to the lawsuit. The new owners also requested that a court-appointed receiver oversee management of the hotel, which is still being run by the Ferchill firms."
Normally, you would not let a property be sold in foreclose IF you thought the property was worth more than the loan balance - especially, if you gave a personal guarantee to the lender.
Normally, wouldn't the holder of the note have a lien on the property if it's in default? How did it get sold?Quote:
Originally Posted by Packman41
Also, when a property gets sold, if there are any outstanding debts on it, they are listed on the closing papers. If you are the buyer and they are still on there, you are responsible for them, period. If you made a deal to get rid of them with the previous owner, then they had better not be on there when closing, otherwise it doesn't really matter what the previous owner promised, because, legally, you are responsible. Property contracts and transactions are immune from verbal agreements, everything needs to be in the closing contract or it doesn't matter.
How much impact is this going to have on new Ferchill redevelopment plans in the city?
Yeah... like the Book Tower. Mr. Ferchill said that if the city got rid of the Lafayette Building, which absolutely had to come down according to him, that he would redevelop the Book Tower.Quote:
Originally Posted by BrushStart
Agree with Lowell on this one. There are lots of positive and unique attributes of this property. Maybe another owner/operator team, unburdened of some of the property's debt, can make a go of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowell
Some additional visibility would help. Every effort should be made to get a deal with one of the building owners on the corner at McDougall and E. Jefferson to allow some signage. Also, the restaurant was never able to realize its revenue potential because it has no view of the river. Were riverside windows not installed during the hotel conversion because of historic rehab tax credit restrictions? Are the restrictions still applicable? Just wondering.
This is a very cool hotel. I hope it can find a new owner.
The lender does have a first mortgage lien on the property. The property is sold at a foreclosure sale and anyone can bid on it, but subject to the liens in place. If the first mortgage lender has the highest bid then it is sold to them and wipes away the junior lien holders. If the highest bid is less than the amount of the outstanding first mortgage, then the lender can go after the owner personally for the difference between the amount owed and the winning bid amount.Quote:
Originally Posted by JBMcB
Whenever an owner has a foreclosure and then a lawsuit for the deficiency amount then other lenders are sure to notice -- and not in a good way.
Courtyard is nice, but had a friend who stayed at the St. Regis and checked out the same evening. Read the reviews on Trip Adviser. Although they are mixed TA is usually a pretty good guide for hotels.Quote:
Originally Posted by LeticiasWeb
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Michigan.html
Seeing that I live in Greater Downtown, I have never stayed in a hotel here before. I've been in a room at MCC and wasnt really impressed but it was nice nonetheless.
As far as the Omni and Rivertown, I hope that area can pull trhough. That areas potential is limited because the large gap between that district and Downtown of weedy empty lots and crumbling streets and buildings, as well as lack of easy transit. A rail line on Jefferson would remedy this and I think it should be next built after Woodward. The riverfront is absolutely essential to reviving the core of Metro Detroit and should't be underestimated.
As far as St. Regis and New Center, I always thought of it as a fancy hotel but i guess I was wrong. But I do know it will be the closest hotel to a light-rail station [[Maybe tied with the Courtyard Marriot if downtown alignment A is chosen) and the only hotel north of I-75, so I can't imagine it closing. Also New Center is in tough times but is still overall on the rebound, and the rebound will accelerate when the rail opens.
I think a hotel right there on the river off E. Jefferson is a pretty decent and certainly unique venue. How many other Detroit hotels are directly on the riverfront these days? RenCen and.......
Hopefully they're able to pull something through for this historic property. That whole area of the city is slowly picking up steam and generating interest, not only because of long standing establishments such as the Stroh RiverPlace, Omni, and Andrew's on the corner, but newer places such as the Park Davis lofts, Atwater Block Brewery, the charter school in the old Franklin Furniture Building, etc. Joseph Campau is a crazy place on weekend evenings!
I second the idea that East Jefferson should be the next arterial to have light rail after Woodward. This is a district that not only has a fairly decent base for commercial, entertainment/dining, and residential, but has excellent potential being only a few blocks from the riverfront and passing many important establishments. And it's certainly wide enough for a center-of-the-road streetcar style operation.
Jefferson would be a logical place to put a rail line, but as far as I know current transit volumes on Jefferson are too low to get federal funds for light rail [[but high enough for BRT, thus doubly annoying the pro-LRT, anti-BRT folks), so that isn't likely to happen anytime soon.
Rail lines.....hotels.......lines to go where, and people in hotels for what?
Everyone talks about mass transit & putting rental people downtown....business and employers will work much better. Without that...what exactly is the reason for transit and hotel space? Like these hotel operators are all inexperienced, and they are letting their properties go down the tubes for shits and giggles?
Not if the loan was non-recourse.Quote:
Originally Posted by Packman41
or
the "owner" is an LLC[[or some other formation) which has no other assets and is now defunct, making the individual people that are a part of the group virtually judgment proof.
Originally posted by Lincoln8740:
"Not if the loan was non-recourse.
or
the "owner" is an LLC[[or some other formation) which has no other assets and is now defunct, making the individual people that are a part of the group virtually judgment proof."
This is all true, except the article http://detnews.com/article/20100909/...#ixzz0zWIKGAcj specifically states that, "The lawsuit says the Ferchill team has an outstanding balance totaling $24.5 million on its loan, including fees and penalties. Wells Fargo and Capmark want the Ferchill officials to pay off the $5.5 million gap that the $19 million foreclosure sale price a week ago Thursday didn't cover, according to the lawsuit."
Banks are notorious for requiring personal guarantees from the individuals that comprise the LLC and not just the LLC. In light of the lawsuit that has been filed it appears Wells Fargo has personal guarantees from Ferchill officials.
Agreed as to right now but during the previous fifteen years, banks rarely asked for a personal guarantee.Quote:
Originally Posted by Packman41
People made a lot of money, espescially on buildings in Detroit.
If you had a good appraiser--the sky was the limit
Didn't they build the Garden Hilton JUST for the superbowl? Last time I checked Gratiot ave. wasn't a tourist destination.
Huh? The Hilton Garden is on Gratiot downtown. Or is this one of those hip and trendy kind "district things" where a place isn't a tourist destination if it's 2 blocks away. Oh Deroit's Times square is so 1920's.........Quote:
Originally Posted by tallboy66
I passed by the hotel Saturday and the front entrance and windows along the lower floors have been boarded up and painted black. A guard stood guard [[actually sat on a park bench) outside of the hotel. With its location along the river, why did this hotel fail? What were major drawbacks for visitors? How could these drawbacks be eliminated? Was the economy the main reason for its demise? I went to the hotel for a few events and drinks at its bar, but I never stayed as a hotel guest. How were the rooms and how was service? It's hard to believe that no one could step forward and save the place. Can this place work as a condo or apartments? I just hope it doesn't languish for years because it's such a beautiful and unique building.
Replying to a couple of different comments:
1. Jefferson does not qualify for light rail or bus rapid transit. Ridership on existing fixed-route bus is not sufficient. Gratiot qualifies to contend for BRT funding but not light rail, and Gratiot has vastly more transit ridership than Jefferson.
2. The location of the Omni was isolated from everything else going on in Detroit. Not by a huge distance, but enough to make it nonviable as a location for a hotel in a weak economy. Let me use a contrast: say you stay in a hotel at the Ren Cen, what is within walking distance of that? Now: say you were staying at the Omni, what is within walking distance?
The east riverfront has not taken off in the way the city might have hoped, and the Omni was a victim of that.
I stand corrected on BRT on Jefferson vs. Gratiot--all those eastside streets look the same to me. :o
As professorscott says, the Omni is too far east when there are plenty of hotel rooms around.. I have never been inside so I don't know exactly how it is set up, but generally it would be pretty expensive to convert a hotel to residences. I'd like to think someone with lower costs could run it as a hotel, but the Ponchartrain is in a better location and doesn't seem to be viable. The Omni might make a nice nursing home.
who all has been to these 'newer' hotels downtown, what is the quality of them? I see them as I walk around downtown during events, and I wonder..Quote:
Originally Posted by tallboy66
I love staying at the Atheneum, especially the eastern view with all of the trees. I've stayed at the Omni a few times, never got a room with a view, would have liked to have gotten a room with a river view once, just never thought of asking when checking in.
I stayed in the Book Cadillac.. It was great!!!!
listening to local radio, there are rumors that an african-american entrepreneur is purchasing the Omni, to renovate, and also offer senior-living residences there.. if true, then that's interesting.. better than just another vast, empty building--
Earlier in this thread there was a discussion of the Detroit hotel market and the St. Regis was mentioned. In the December 21, 2010 edition of Crain's Detroit Business they reported that the St. Regis was going to be sold at auction on Thursday, January 13 - see: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...auction-jan-13#
Has anyone hear the result of the auction? Just curious.
You could have had it for 850K. Of course Urban Partnership Bank has the right of first refusal. I'm staying their tomorrow night after the auto show. I'll let you know if you got a good deal =)
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ld-for-850-000
BelleIsleRunner:Quote:
Originally Posted by belleislerunner
Thanks for the link. Sorry to have bothered you and Googled it first. Hope your stay works out well.
Dang. Sold for only $3,778 per room. Gives you an idea of hotel problems in Detroit.
Met the new African-American owner last month. Didn't know about the senior residences part. Don't remember his name. When I find his business card, I'll post his name.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hypestyles
Update, a quick google search and here is the new owner. Couldn't pull up the Freep article by John Gallagher from November 2010 that mentioned the deal that was still pending at the time.
http://www.blackenterprise.com/2008/...nds-its-reach/
the problem with downtown hotels and resturants in general is getting competent help and staff
most entry level hotel and/or resturant jobs don't pay that great that will allow you to draw employees that actually live downtown, thus you are drawing from the suburbs, and pay being equal, if you live in warren are you going to work the andiamos or toms oyster bar downtown or one on 14 mile rd. or in royal oak???
even suburban chains like chilis on 8 mile at eastland mall suck because of the crap staffing... im 1/4 mile away from that chilis and after the first experience, if i want crap chilis food i will drive 10 miles to the one on gratiot [[although not that much better)
I find this extremely hard to believe. Jefferson always seems to be so busy at rush hour, not to mention at other times of day. Are they actually only taking into consideration current low income or "brave" riders, and not the middle and upper income Gen Y's and Millennials who currently drive down I-94, Jefferson, and other nearby mirror streets? That has to be it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by professorscott
I've stayed at most of the older ones and Greektown. The rooms are pretty standard between all the hotels that have closed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hypestyles
In other words, you have no data to set down in front of us. Number one rule: If you want to prove something to people, whether it's in your career or to the forum, come with statistics and evidence. You're not even presenting collective opinions either, just your own thoughts and they aren't carrying much weight or doing much convincing. Even if I agree with you on some points, you do not deliver them correctly.Quote:
Originally Posted by DetroitDad
Thanks for the tip Wolverine. It's true, I'm spreading a meme, I guess. I don't know of any reports to prove this. :o On the other hand, my first hand knowledge is what it is. Without getting to into what I do [[management is not a fan of social media talking) and where I do it, I basically sit and look at traffic congestions for all of Southeast Michigan, on a computer all day. We are linked into MDOT's traffic cams, and while I don't consider myself an expert, The Crosstown is a headache to deal with at rush hour, so much so that we do not allow our local delivery drivers to use it during peak times. I will admit, I am not sure exactly why I-94 is gridlocked everyday, it seems to be more of an interchange issue than a capacity issue. Either way, one alternative is often East Jefferson, which seems to be as busy as any suburban feeder street.Quote:
Originally Posted by wolverine
There is no reason to believe that those people would ride light rail over I-94, you are certainly right. But, I think this subject would be very useful in a report.
Actually, don't take my word for it, you too can view traffic all day long, right on your desktop. Go to; http://mdotnetpublic.state.mi.us/dri...eraviewer.aspx . There is also a good app for smartphones and Windows 7, which utilizes Google maps, and also reports on the radials.
Of course, it's logical to have a light rail line connecting the proposed M-1 line to Alter Road via Jefferson. These include some of the most viable areas of the city. But I think that the Pointes would have a fit, seriously. Imagine all the poor people who'd flood in. No... we can't have that. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by DetroitDad
Were you being facetious, English? Poor people have absolutely no place in the Pointes. They can't afford it! And the Pointes offer nothing that they can benefit from for free. I wouldn't call myself poor but I have very little reason to go there myself. The Pointes have stayed exclusive for one reason and one reason only -- lack of opportunities for folks who can't afford to be there. DDOT runs into Grosse Pointe Park via E. Jefferson and SMART runs into Grosse Pointe Farms via Moross. Public transportation hasn't caused the infiltration of the Pointes up until now so please do not give anyone any ideas about why we can't use light rail on Jefferson. I would love the idea of hopping the train downtown!Quote:
Originally Posted by English
mam2009: I was being a little facetious, sorry. I have a vested interest in a light rail line on Jefferson, because it's one of two areas that I am considering moving into in just a few short months. The hold up of the M-1, let alone anything along the spokes, is incredibly frustrating and disappointing.
The Pointes get a bad rap, in my opinion. They've had their moments, but you'd be hard pressed to find a group of Detroit suburbanites who are more invested in the life of the city.
Apparently Mr Roberts is hanging it up. Recent reviews don’t look too great.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/bu...lk/6251889002/
According to an earlier post in this thread the hotel sold at auction for 850K 9-10 yrs. ago. Now he wants 26 million. He did put in a pool so I guess that's about right.:rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by hybridy
What is that tall almost 20 story building behind the hotel? I don't remember it being proposed [[and it's certainly not built). :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by hybridy
I noticed that too and the Freep calls it a photo of the hotel. No mention of artist's renderings to make the area look more attractive - obviously provided by the seller.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gistok
That post was referring to the St Regis Hotel.Quote:
Originally Posted by 401don
Oops. Thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeM
Roberts wanted to build condos and turn the whole property into a resort. Roberts/Detroit Rivera or something along those lines. He’s marketing the potential of the entire site hence the outrageous ask.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gistok
Old article:
https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2014/11/30/roberts-riverwalk-hotel-detroit-riverwalk/19640943/
Oh well! there goes a piece of a be Coleman A Young's Detroit's Renaissance plan.