Michigan’s Second-Largest Conference Center Hotel Up for Grabs

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The second-largest hotel and conference center in the state of Michigan changed its name so many times over the past few years that a new change—this time in ownership—wouldn’t surprise anyone.

Royal Dearborn Hotel and Conference Center

Savills Studley’s hospitality arm announced it is marketing the 773-room Royal Dearborn Hotel & Conference Center located roughly 10 miles from Detroit and less than two miles from the Automotive Hall of Fame and University of Michigan Dearborn. The property, which is situated at 600 Town Center Drive in Dearborn, occupies over 32 acres of land directly across the street from the Ford Motor Company global headquarters. The 854,000 square-foot building features a glass-covered façade and was originally constructed in 1976 as the Hyatt Regency Dearborn.

However, the property went through several changes in name and management operations over the past three years. In fall 2012 the Detroit Free Press reported that the hotel turned into an eco-friendly Adoba Hotel. That switch occurred shortly after Hyatt and Royal Realties—a group of international investors who purchased the hotel for $15.5 million from CW Capital in April 2011—discontinued the management contract. Almost two years later, Crain’s Detroit Business dropped the news that the hotel was renamed into the Regency Dearborn Hotel & Convention Center operating under the management of the Lodging Host Hotel Corp.

In fall 2014, the hotel was foreclosed as Royal Realties owed almost $857,000 in back property taxes, interest and fees from 2012. The 16-story hotel and convention center is now up for sale again. Savills Studley expects to fetch up to $40 million for the property, according to Crain’s.

“This represents a unique opportunity to invest in a major hotel asset free of debt, brand and management”, said Marc Magazine, executive managing director of Savills Studley’s U.S. Capital Markets Hotel Group. “There are numerous repositioning options for the property, including splitting the asset into two smaller hotels or even reducing the size of the hotel component by converting the top floors to residential use and transforming parts of ground-level space into retail,” he added.

Image courtesy of Royal Dearborn Hotel & Convention Center’s Facebook page