Will a 4-Story Hotel Take the Place of the Sagamore Motor Lodge?

The decision to revoke the license of the (also known as the Sagamore Motor Lodge) at 30776 Woodward Ave. was tabled at Monday night’s City Commission meeting pending the submission of a license application by the new owners within the next 14 days.

Zaid Elia, of Elia Group, and Arie Lebovitz, of Ari-El Enterprises, told commissioners when the partners purchased the property on June 7 from the previous owner they were unaware the city was preparing findings to revoke the Travelodge’s hotel/motel license. 

Travelodge timeline

Back in March, a public hearing to revoke the hotel/motel license of the Travelodge was held after the motel had not paid delinquent real property taxes, personal property taxes and water bills totaling $142,000.

Elmer Roller, an attorney representing the Travelodge, indicated to commissioners the owner entered into a purchase agreement for the sale of the motel, indicating the purchaser might develop the property, rather than continue to operate the motel. The City Commission voted to give the Travelodge a continuance of 90 days to close its deal.

Between March 19 and June 6 no updates were provided to the city, according to City Attorney Dave Gillam.

On or about June 14, the City Treasurer was notified the delinquent property taxes for the Travelodge were paid in full and on or about June 20 the delinquent water bills were paid by the new owners.

Plans to develop 4-story hotel

“We just want to say for the record that we want to be a strong part of the community,” Elia said. “It is our intention to redevelop the property in the future.” 

Elia maintained he was unaware of the "issues" the Travelodge had with the city.

The real estate developer said plans for the Travelodge site include developing a 4-story hotel that would serve residents and visiting doctors along with the general public.

“We believe in the community and we believe in the location,” said Lebovitz who has been redeveloping properties for more than 40 years. He believes a hotel on Woodward in Royal Oak is viable and could compete with hotels in Birmingham.

The real estate partners admitted they had never built a hotel, however, Lebovitz asked commissioners to look at his diverse portfolio at www.ari-el.com, which includes industrial parks, office buildings, retail centers and apartment communities developed by Ari-El Enterprises.

"Even though we have never built a hotel, we have sufficient connections in the industry," Lebovitz said. "We feel that this could be great opportunity."

Elia told commissioners the plan is to operate the Travelodge as is, while plans are developed. In the meantime, Elia said his team is working on the required hotel/motel license application.