After a Muskegon County judge shut down construction of two new hotels halfway through the build, Fruitport Township officials trying to decide what to do with the partially built structures. The two would be hotels are adjacent to the Lakes Mall in Fruitport Township, and about a half a mile down the road from where a new proposed Casino will be potentially built, where the Great Lakes Downs Racetrack once stood.
However, Muskegon County Circuit Judge Timothy Hicks ruled in June, that the two hotels were in violation of a non-compete agreement. Jon Rooks is the owner of Parkland Properties. He bought the Delta Marriot in downtown Muskegon from Malik Abdulnoor, the owner of Stellar Hospitality, on the condition that Abdulnoor not build or own a hotel within 14 miles of the Delta Marriot.
Rooks says, Abdulnoor began construction on the two hotels in secret, leaving his name off of any public documents…it wasn’t until Rooks’ team subpoenaed the franchise agreement, that they learn the truth.
“He was all over it,” Rooks said. “It was stunning. Stunningly surprising.”
Rooks team filed a lawsuit, and construction on the two hotels stopped. And now Fruitport is left with two half-built hotels, each 4 stories apiece, and each containing about 100 unfinished rooms, and the questions remains: what to do with them. Township Supervisor Heidi Tice offers her opinion.
“I don’t know what it could be repurposed to, people have thrown out all sorts of ideas,” Tice said. “I think it would be detrimental for us to just tear it all down though.”
I reached out to Abdulnoor to get his side to the story. Calls were not returned. A judge has yet to rule on the damages.
Daniel Boothe, WGVU NEWS