Former Omni to combine hotel, senior housing

[begingri]

After buying the former Omni hotel, Mike Roberts thought the 108-room structure on the Detroit riverfront would be good for either senior housing or as a hotel.

So he chose both.

In April, he plans to open Roberts Riverwalk Hotel & Residence with 54 hotel rooms and 54 senior housing units. He said the unique combination will work well together as a business model.

"The senior residence side of things will give us a consistency in cash flow and income," he said. "And then from an operational standpoint, we're running a much smaller hotel."

The investment is Roberts' first entry into the Detroit market.

Roberts is CEO of the St. Louis-based Roberts Cos. His brother Steven is president. They've built a portfolio of 12 hotels in eight states, among them the Roberts Walthall Hotel in Jackson. The company portfolio also includes five apartment projects and two retail properties, along with three television stations and a radio station.

"America won't let its great cities die," he said. "And with the people here, and the energy, this is an opportunistic move for me."

The hotel was owned and operated by Irving, Texas-based Omni Hotels & Resorts. The company closed the hotel on Oct. 12 and sold it to Roberts in November. Roberts would not comment on the sale price, citing a confidentiality clause with Omni.

He plans to operate the hotel side without a franchised affiliation and position it as an upscale, boutique property.

Stephanie Donaldson, who will be the residential manager, said there is growing demand and little supply for high-end senior living and environments where the seniors can interact with a younger population.

"Most seniors don't want to live only with other seniors," she said. "They want to be around people of all ages."

She said the senior rates have not been set yet, but will likely start at $2,000 per month.

The other selling point, she said, is the access the seniors will have to the 24-hour hotel amenities.


Continued at: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...enior-housing#

[scubashelley]

Well I hope they fix the elevator situation. I did valet parking there from 01-02 and it really stunk that the main entrance had a stairway up to the lobby. Big music acts would often stay there and not be happy lugging their gear/luggage up the [[albeit short) flight of stairs. I hope the seniors are healthy. I don't know how they got around the handicapped friendly requirements...

[DetroitPlanner]

$2,000 a month for an SRO situation?? Granted you get hotel amenities, but you're not getting much room for anything more than a bed, small fridge, hotplate or microwave!

For $2k who provides the furniture? Does maid service come with it? If not you would be hard pressed to find somewhere to park the vaccum and other cleaning supplies.

[bailey]

Ok, seriously is there no other use for a building along the Detroit river than for "senior housing"? The Whittier is going to be a granny stacker, there are at least three others along the "gold coast" that are seniors only and isn't there a proposal to build more seniors housing in the area? Is there some sort tax break/subsidy that makes this the only option for development?

[Gistok]

The apartment towers along the Detroit RIver "Gold Coast" [[such as the River Terrace and RIver House) have been senior citizen high rises for decades. Since the folks who want to live in Detroit are either the young, or the empty nesters... guess which group has more money to spend?

[SWMAP]

This combination of housing [[seniors) and hotel guests was just what the St. Regis tried and we saw what happened thee. Also, didn't the old Michigan Inn do this? Pretty dsoon no hotel guests - just lots of people living in ramshackle studio apartments.

The magic number of $2000 per month sort of lulls you into thinking it will be an upscale situation - but that number is no doubt a myth. They will sell their one-room senior apartments to anyone and then there will be low-life residents preying on any guests. This situation is a disaster and a web of lies from the new owners.

[English]

The magic number of $2000 per month sort of lulls you into thinking it will be an upscale situation - but that number is no doubt a myth. They will sell their one-room senior apartments to anyone and then there will be low-life residents preying on any guests. This situation is a disaster and a web of lies from the new owners.

Exactly. That's a HUGE issue in Detroit's senior housing, generally speaking -- young ne'er do wells staying with older relatives. I can't see any solution to this, either.

[English]

Looks like the website is up...

Roberts Riverwalk Hotel and Residence, Detroit:

http://www.detroitriverwalkhotel.com/events/

I'm thinking about taking my mom and grandma, or my mentor if they're not up to it, to the Mother's Day luncheon.

[Hypestyles]

http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/po...using/142814/1

ah... I hope that they have a jobs fair.. whoops, they're open for business already?