Developer hopes to complete project within a year

DEARBORN – The Dearborn Planning Commission has approved a redevelopment plan for the former Hyatt Regency hotel in the heart of the city, converting it into a residential complex with 258 apartments, along with a 216-room hotel, two restaurants and a lounge. The project organizers have expressed their intent to start construction and complete it within a year.

The iconic 18-story building was originally constructed in the 1970s as the second-largest hotel in Michigan. However, by 2012, the Hyatt Regency chain abandoned the property due to declining quality. It was later reopened under the name Edward Hotel & Convention Center and continued to operate until 2018, when the city of Dearborn ordered its closure due to lack of maintenance and public safety concerns. Since then, it has remained abandoned.

In the years following, multiple attempts to redevelop the building, located at 600 Town Center Drive, failed. The property was eventually seized and sold in an online auction last fall to a group of investors under the company Willowbrook, LLC.

A few months after acquiring the building for $5.9 million, the new ownership group submitted a redevelopment plan for the 773-room abandoned hotel. The plan received approval from the Dearborn Planning Commission with an 8-1 vote Monday night, paving the way for final approval by the City Council in an upcoming session.

In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Ghassan Abdelnour, the architect of the redevelopment plan of GAV & Associates, based in Farmington Hills, stated that the new owners are eager to begin redevelopment soon and complete it as quickly as possible.

“They want to move fast and keep the momentum going. If they can open within a year, they will be happy,” Abdelnour said, adding that the group has extensive experience owning and managing hotels and residential properties across the United States. The lead investor in the project is Mr. Shah, though his full name was not disclosed.

While the ownership group has not yet finalized which hotel brand will operate the new hotel, Abdelnour revealed that they have already been in talks with major chains such as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt Regency.

Regarding the redevelopment details, Abdelnour confirmed that all residential units will be priced at market rates, denying any knowledge of plans to seek government incentives or tax breaks for offering low-income housing.

He explained that the hotel’s large size and the challenge of fully reopening it led the group to convert most of the space into 258 residential apartments, spread across floors six through thirteen. The units will consist of 154 one-bedroom apartments, 90 two-bedroom apartments and 14 studio units.

The new 216-room hotel will occupy the third, fourth and fifth floors, while the 17th floor will be used as storage and the 18th floor for mechanical equipment.

Additionally, the plan includes two new restaurants on the second floor and a lounge on the 16th floor within the Rotunda Hall, which is notable for its revolving floor.

It is worth mentioning that the previous owner, Rhodium Capital Advisors, a New York-based company, had proposed a similar redevelopment plan shortly after purchasing the site for $18.25 million from the U.S. Marshals in the fall of 2021. However, that project never materialized, and Rhodium eventually defaulted on its mortgage, leading to another foreclosure and public auction.

Before Rhodium’s ownership, the Canadian authorities had seized the building from its prior owner, Edward Gong, a Chinese national residing in Canada, after charging him with fraud and money laundering. The charges were later dropped, though Gong had originally purchased the property in 2016 for $20 million.

Before the hotel’s auction in October, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud encouraged potential investors to present “new ideas” and uphold the highest standards in redevelopment plans.

At the time, Hammoud stated that the city did not intend to obstruct redevelopment efforts but emphasized, “The residents have a vision for this site, and as their representatives, we will work to ensure that vision is realized.” He also highlighted the strategic location of the property near Ford Motor Company’s global headquarters, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Henry Ford College and the Fairlane Town Center shopping mall.