Edward Hotel & Convention Center

The Edward Hotel & Convention Center was a 14-story, 773-room[1] former conference center hotel located in the Metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan at 600 Town Center Drive, near the intersection of M-39 and U.S. Highway 12. It was the second largest hotel in Michigan, after the Marriott in Detroit's Renaissance Center.[2]

Edward Hotel & Convention Center
Former namesHyatt Regency Dearborn
General information
TypeHotel
Architectural styleModern
LocationDearborn, Michigan
United States
Coordinates42°18′43.6″N 83°13′4.1″W
GroundbreakingOctober 1973
Completed1976
ClosedDecember 14, 2018
OwnerRoyal Realties LLC
Height
Top floor213 ft (65 m)
Technical details
Floor count16
Design and construction
Architect(s)Charles Luckman and Associates
Main contractorDel E. Webb Corporation

History

The hotel was constructed in 1976 as the Hyatt Regency Dearborn. Originally built as an upscale hotel, the building included a Ford-designed monorail people mover to Fairlane Mall.[3][4] The people mover, hotel, and mall were supposed to be part of a larger office, retail, and residential complex built by Ford's land development subsidiary. The people mover was a Ford Motor Company prototype for an Automatically Controlled Transportation System and was closed in 1988, and ultimately removed.[3][4]

The hotel also originally had a revolving restaurant on its top floor.[3][4] It also originally featured a helipad.[3][4] It originally had 800 hotel rooms when it opened.[4]

The high-rise hotel contains a conference center, restaurants, retail area, and fitness center. The architect, Charles Luckman, designed the hotel in a contemporary Modern style with glass as the main exterior material. The hotel was built by the Del E. Webb Corporation.[5][6] The hotel is adjacent to Fairlane Town Center shopping mall, near Ford World Headquarters, and The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.

The hotel was renamed Adoba Hotel Dearborn / Detroit on November 1, 2012, then Royal Dearborn Hotel and Convention Center in 2015.[7][8] Canadian businessman Xiao Hua Gong, also known as Edward Gong, bought the hotel for $20 million in 2016 and renamed it after himself, calling it first the Edward Village Michigan Hotel, then the Edward Hotel & Convention Center.

On December 14, 2018, the hotel was deemed "unfit for human occupancy" by the City of Dearborn and condemned and closed due to fire code violations and lack of necessary permits.[9] The hotel was seized from Gong by US and Canadian authorities in 2021,[10] after his business empire imploded as a result of multi-national criminal investigations in the US, Canada and New Zealand.[11]

On September 18, 2021, the vacant structure was sold by the United States Marshals Service to an unnamed buyer for $27 million. The buyer announced plans to convert the 773-room hotel to 375 apartments, while possibly retaining a small hotel portion.[12]

See also

Notes
  1. "Dearborn". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  2. Former Dearborn Hyatt aims to regain stars, class, JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press, August 20, 2016
  3. Reindl, J. C. (September 26, 2019). "Future of still-closed old Dearborn Hyatt is now up to Canadian court". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  4. Reindl, J. C. (August 20, 2016). "10 insane facts about the former Dearborn Hyatt". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  5. "Webb Spinner 1971–1974" (PDF).
  6. "Webb Spinner 1975–1978" (PDF).
  7. "Hyatt Regency Dearborn to become eco-friendly Adoba Hotel". Detroit Free Press.
  8. Former Hyatt Regency Dearborn will change its name — again, Crain's Business Detroit, Sherri Welch, June 11, 2015
  9. Edward Hotel in Dearborn closed due to fire code, maintenance violations, Dave Herndon, Dearborn Press & Guide, December 23, 2018
  10. "Former Dearborn Hyatt hotel expected to go up for sale soon". Crain's Detroit Business. February 16, 2021.
  11. Chase, Steven (June 16, 2021). "Canadian businessman cuts record $60M forfeiture deal with New Zealand police over 'profits from pyramid scheme'" – via www.theglobeandmail.com.
  12. "The Edward Hotel to be turned into apartments as $27 million offer approved by government". September 18, 2021.

Further reading
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