Former City Official Has Plans for Royal Motor Inn, a ‘Diamond in the Rough’

Former Royal Oak city commissioner Jim Rasor hopes to accomplish as a private business person what he wasn’t able to do as a city official: clean up the seamy Royal Motor Inn at 825 E. 11 Mile Road.

Rasor, an attorney, wants to give the 72-room, 1950s-vintage hotel a new life by transforming it into a “premium boutique hotel, he told The Oakland Press.

“I have always had a focused vision on finding diamonds in the rough and polishing them up,” he said.

The hotel is a rough-cut diamond that needs polishing for sure, and Rasor and his partners estimate it will take about $3.1 million to do it.

With its low weekly rates, the motel is among several in the city on police officers’ radar that attract criminals with outstanding warrants, drug abusers, drifters and ne'er–do–well types.

Rasor said a large turn-in drive in the current courtyard parking lot will require guests to stop in the front lobby to register – one way hotel management will be able to weed out undesirable guests.

Royal Oak officials are keenly interested in what Rasor has in mind for the hotel and are listening closely to his ideas for other dilapidated properties on the 11 Mile corridor.

The success of the project may hinge on how much attention Royal Oak city officials are willing to give to the blighted 11 Mile Road corridor, he said. Rasor thinks the city should partner with entrepreneurs to create a legislatively approved PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) district to encourage more green energy efficient technologies.

Another option would a TIFA (Tax Increment Financing Authority), a tool cities commonly use to improve blighted areas.

Royal Oak Mayor Jim Ellison said the 11 Mile Road corridor is high on the city’s priority list for improvements. Todd Fenton, the city’s new economic development director, is currently exploring ways to attract high-quality business projects to the city, Ellison said.

City Commissioner David Poulton said he thinks the idea of a TIFA is worth considering.

“I think we need to do whatever it takes to rid the city of these motels we have,” Poulton said. “We need to redevelop motels in the city. There are just so many parolees and ex-cons living in these places and these motels are no good for the city.”

Rasor’s partners in the venture are Bernie Ronnish of Ronnish Construction Group in Royal Oak and real estate broker Joel Karboske, who most recently was involved in redeveloping the Detroit Dogs restaurant on Fifth Street.

The group took possession of the property last month and will begin redevelopment soon, Rasor said. The hotel will remain open throughout the renovations, expected to take about a year.

“We don’t want to miss the summer season,” Rasor said.

Tell Us:

• What do you think the city of Royal Oak should do to encourage more development along blighted 11 Mile Road and create a more favorable business climate for entrepreneurs?