South-Toledo motel owes $1.7 million to area bank

10/27/2009

A second Southwyck-area inn is facing foreclosure just three weeks before the shuttered Clarion Hotel is scheduled to go up for sheriff's auction.

The owner of the 112-room Days Inn on Tollgate Drive near Reynolds Road in Maumee is identified in a complaint filed in Lucas County Common Pleas Court by Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Archbold.

The suit claims that Hare Krishna LLC, owner of the two-story motel, has not made a mortgage payment since July 31 and owes $1.7 million on a $1.8 million loan received in August, 2006.

An assistant manager said the Days Inn remains open.

The motel official, identified only as Henry, was unaware of the lawsuit. But he acknowledged that times are tough for the business. "Everywhere, it's the same thing," he said. "It's the economy."

Despite the motel ownership group's name, it has no ties to the offshoot of Hinduism known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or Hare Krishna.

Norman Rubinoff, a Toledo lawyer who represents the owner, did not return a call seeking comment.

Kirk Yosick, a lawyer in Bryan handling the case for the bank, declined to comment.

The foreclosure represents another setback for the Reynolds Road commercial corridor, which is struggling with retail failures and the demolition of the Southwyck Shopping Center.

The most recent closing was 360 Fitness, 1703 Tollgate, two weeks ago.

The area, near an Ohio Turnpike exit, straddles Toledo and suburban Maumee. Motels in the area have faced increased competition from new competitors, including a Holiday Inn with an indoor water park adjacent to the Days Inn property.

The 11-story former Clarion Hotel, at 2340 South Reynolds in Toledo, is scheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction at 10 a.m. Nov. 18 in the Lucas County Courthouse.

Lender TransCapital Bank of

Hallandale Beach, Fla., initiated the action in February saying that the Miami Beach owners, operating as Toledo Hotel Investment Group LLC, had defaulted on $2 million in loans.

The 261-room lodging establishment has been closed since July, 2008. It opened in 1974 as a Ramada Inn. The motel has been appraised at $2.1 million, according to records at the sheriff's office.

The Days Inn opened in 1987, according to Lucas County records. It operated for many years under the banner of the Cross Country Inn chain.

It was acquired in 2001 by an ownership group led by Suresh "Sinbad" Patel. Mr. Rubinoff, the lawyer, said at the time that Mr. Patel had no link to Hinduism but chose the Hare Krishna name because he liked its sound.

Lucas County court records show that the state of Ohio filed a lien against Hare Krishna LLC for $650 Aug. 1 for unpaid payroll withholding taxes.

Also, according to the foreclosure complaint, the motel owes $48,000 in unpaid property taxes to the county.

The case has been assigned to Judge Frederick McDonald.

Contact Gary Pakulski at:

gpakulski@theblade.com

or 419-724-6082.