By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


Work on a Genoa Township hotel that caught fire during construction last year is near ready to resume in full.

Interior work involving a lot of clean up following the October 2019 fire at the Hampton Inn off Latson Road has been ongoing. A 4th floor fire after drywall was installed but before furniture had been moved in spread to 3 or 4 rooms, according to Chris Abbo, Vice President of Construction and Operations for the Namou Group, which runs the hotel.

Through the process of putting out the fire, water worked its way down to the lower floors, leaving more than the initial smoke and fire damage. As a result, they had to gut and demolish part of the interior, while opening up the roof to expose everything. They were able to do most of this while their insurance company investigated the claim, but then were put on hold to resubmit a second set of plans to the township and authorities. Abbo estimates the damage done was at a minimum of $2.5-million, though it was covered by insurance.

The hotel was originally slated to open last April, in the midst of the Spring coronavirus surge. Abbo said that while that would have negatively affected business with nobody travelling, at the same time they want to be open and establish themselves in the community with different corporations and events going on.

Abbo said Genoa Township and Livingston County have been understanding of their situation and great to work with. He believes that in 3 to 4 weeks they will be ready to pick up where they left off before the fire. Because of COVID restrictions, though, they are working with only one subcontractor at a time. Abbo was hoping for a grand opening in May, but said 3rd quarter 2021 may be more realistic.