Leaders with the Texas-based group poised to close on a purchase of the Harrington Inn said they’re excited about the prospect of picking up plans to restore the historic Port Huron site to a hotel.
The property has been locked in receivership following litigation over the last two years between its previous developer, California attorney Jeff Katofsky, and lenders looking to recoup debt on his projects.
However, days after the Harrington was originally slated to return to auction this month, representatives with Global Integrity Investments reached out to the Times Herald to discuss redeveloping the property, 1026 Military St., after what they said had been months of following news related to the site and regular conversations with city leadership about what use would best suit it.
“We love the property. I’ve been out there. I’ve walked it and spent several hours on it. We’ve done a tremendous amount of research on the historical value. … We love that heritage it brings to the city,” President and CEO Toby Potter said in an interview Thursday.
“We’ve got the speakeasy down in the basement. We’re going to put a cigar lounge there on the first floor. We’ve got the venue or banquet hall also on the first floor, and then, the restaurant,” he said. “So, we’re also looking at opening that up. We know there’s a good demand for weddings venues and reception areas, so we want to utilize that also. And then, of course, the rest of it is going to be 80-plus hotel rooms — all left at that late 1800s era. And everything’s going to have that charisma, that nostalgic ambiance.”
How did this get underway for the Texas-based firm? And why a hotel?
Originally, a Florida-based financier had picked up a winning bid last spring on the Harrington before reportedly walking away from the deal. Since then, representatives from Berkadia Hotels & Hospitality, the firm retained to solicit offers for the receiver managing Katofsky’s properties, have been mum on the sale process.
This week, Potter said they expected to close on the purchase next month.
Some of the details of that deal weren’t yet public, though Potter said they’d been able to maneuver around a $3.4 million loan originally issued on the site for environmentally-friendly improvements that city officials have confirmed were never implemented under Katofsky’s ownership.
Now, moving forward, Potter said they planned to bring in at least two separate firms, including a potential partner with a background in hospitality, into the redevelopment “so we can make sure this is done properly,” acknowledging hotels were not in their field of expertise.
Global Integrity Investments, according to its own description, is oriented primarily around multi-family real estate.
And when they first looked at the Harrington, Potter said they did have residential apartments in mind, citing the massive nationwide housing shortage.
“It seemed to be the more viable opportunity for us until we began our conversations with the city, and we have a weekly conversation with them and have since May. Through that, it was determined, ‘Hey, we love the idea of apartments, but we really, really want this and need this as a hotel,’” he said. “The residential side is not as impacted as the demand for hotels, and I can attest to that. Even as I flew in, I had to stay closer to the airport. There wasn’t anything available. St. Clair wasn’t available. Nothing in Port Huron was available. So, we saw even in that short time that there is a shortage for people coming in as a tourist.”
Port Huron City Manager James Freed, who’d initially given City Council members a heads-up last weekend of a developer’s interest in the Harrington as a hotel, said market studies showed demand for an 80-room hotel was there, particularly around an establishment with onsite venues, restaurants or bars.
This week, he also said it was typical for city leadership to be in regular contact with potential developers.
“Whether it’s this project or projects in our industrial park, we work quietly and diligently behind the scenes for many, many months to bring projects to fruition and to get developers to invest. This is an example of that,” Freed said of Global Integrity Investments. “We’re very confident in this development team. They are extremely experienced with a deep portfolio. We’re very honored that they would consider investing in Port Huron in this size and scope.”
What is the redevelopment process going to look like?
Potter said the ideal timeline after they close would see bids out for work within a month or two, the launch of construction in March, and work over 18 months until operational.
Much of the interior has already been gutted, he said, and rooms on the third and fourth floor reframed.
There was also some restoration required after minor vandalism on the property after it sat idle.
Potter added they were looking to work with the firm Infuz Architects, which was already familiar with designing for the property.
He pointed to the Harrington’s deep history — from its role famously as a honeymoon stop for future President Truman and his wife, as well as figures like Thomas Edison — in hopes of keeping familiar details alive for visitors.
“We’re meeting with (the architect) on the eighth, going to walk through the whole building and make sure everything is still … in my vision and his ability,” Potter said. In potentially incorporating Infuz, he said, they were essentially “picking up where they left off there.”
When asked, Nick Love, director of acquisitions for Global Integrity, said it was important to them to share their plans with the public.
“It’s had such bad blood from the previous guy,” he said Thursday. “We wanted to come in and really reassure people that we are also very passionate about the project and want to see it come back into its fruition and be an icon and model for the city.”
Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com.
