The Holly Hotel will not be opening their doors anytime soon as their lawsuit against the owner of property adjacent to the hotel will not be decided until at least 2024.

Attorney Julie Fershtman, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the hotel owners, said there have been additional filings since the suit was filed on Aug. 25 and they are currently in the discovery process phase of the case.

Owners Chrissy and George Kutlenios are seeking an order permitting contractors be allowed unobstructed access to property adjacent to the hotel for equipment, machinery, and materials for at least three months.

The lawsuit, filed in Oakland County Circuit Court, claims that “beginning Feb. 26, 2023 reconstruction has been halted by the unnecessary, unlawful, and even spiteful actions of defendant Jeremiah Roberts, the new owner of the former Holly antiques arcade (Battle Alley Arcade Antiques) property.”

Roberts, listed on multiple websites as a real estate agent at the Detroit Investors Club at 107 Battle Alley, is refusing to let contractors use his property to complete work on the hotel’s west wall that was significantly damaged in a June 2022 fire.

The fire damaged 11 downtown businesses, most significantly, the Holly Hotel.

Roberts, listed in the complaint as a resident of White Lake, purchased the property on Feb. 24. The arcade property has been vacant since last year when rubble was cleared away.

According to the lawsuit, after Roberts purchased the property he asserted the hotel building footprint extended six inches onto his property. He also complained that the eaves being reconstructed on the west side roof extended over his property’s air space and demanded the removal of the eaves.

In November 2022, a demolition contractor for the former arcade demolished the hotel’s entire west side wall adding reconstruction of the wall to a list of tasks to be completed before reopening.

“We had a survey completed for the Hotel. At this time, we discovered that the Holly Hotel was slightly over its property line in a portion of the building. It had, of course, been that way since its construction in 1891,” Kutlenios wrote on the hotel website. “We contacted the owner of the adjacent Arcade property and she (Pat Kenny) assured us that this would not be a problem.”

The Kutlenios’ received all the necessary permits in January and had been working with Roberts to come up with a solution to their impasse.

“We spent the entirety of the time between Feb. 26 to July 25 attempting to resolve this issue,” said Kutlenios. “On July 25, Mr. Roberts agreed to relinquish the claim he previously asserted as to the lot line, only to change his mind on Aug. 10. With no other options, we were forced to file a lawsuit against Mr. Roberts on Aug. 25.”

Roberts declined to comment on the lawsuit.

A trial date has been set for August 2024 by Judge Jacob Cunningham, who has also ordered both sides to try and work out a settlement in a yet to be scheduled mediation session.

Both sides must submit the name of a mediator to be approved by Cunningham before moving forward.

The deadline for the parties to submit their names is next month.

According to the owners, a $40,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which required improvements to be completed by Dec. 15, will not be affected by the delay.

Funds from the grant would be used to pay to rebrick parts of the building’s exterior.

“We spoke with the National Trust and told them everything that was going on and they gave us an extension until June of next year,” said George Kutlenious. “They have been very willing to work with us on the grant, and we will be working with them again next year based on how everything works out.”

Kutlenios said all construction both inside and outside the hotel is on hold until there is a resolution to the lawsuit.

“We still talk with all 45 of our employees and they are all chomping at the bit to come back, and we are disappointed and our customers are disappointed,” said Kutlenios. “Everyone is disappointed with how this is working out.”