Ferndale’s notoriously crime-ridden Motorama Motel, at the corner of Eight Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, is for sale. And for a cool $1.5 million-plus, this festering den of iniquity can be yours.
The 21,340-square-foot, two-story building is being listed by real estate brokerage CBRE. An associate working with the listing agent tells me the owner won’t share financials for the business, but he says the site’s prime location and mixed-use zoning makes it most valuable as a mixed-use redevelopment — possibly as first-floor retail and second-floor residential.
The motel is currently involved in litigation with the city of Ferndale.
In 2016, the city of Ferndale denied the Motorama a hotel business license on the recommendation of then-police chief Timothy Collins, who cited voluminous police reports in saying the motel is a haven for prostitution, human trafficking, drugs, assaults and other crimes. The motel’s owner, Phil Patel, later filed a lawsuit against the city challenging that decision, and the case has been tied up ever since in the courts. The motel remains open.
According to the Oakland County Times, crime at the Motorama has continued apace, with more than 60 incidents reported by police from the beginning of the year through late August.
Patel said he bought the 60-room motel for around $1.25 million in 2003 and made around $800,000 worth of renovations. His business model is to provide affordable long-term lodging to low-income people who use many of the 60 rooms.
Hank Carpenter, an associate at CBRE, said Patel has fielded at least one serious offer in the ballpark, but added, “It wasn’t quite enough for him to sell.”
The motel was built in 1961 and includes parking on both the north and south sides. The property also includes a large advertising billboard on the roof of the building that brings in about $10,000 a year in additional revenue, Carpenter said.
The city of Ferndale revoked the business license for both the Motorama and the nearby 8 Wood Motel in 2016 after a person who purchased heroin from a drug ring using both motels was found dead outside a nearby home.
8 Wood later entered into an agreement with the city to beef up security and deter crime and has reportedly been in compliance with that agreement.
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