A search for answers on why remodeling of the former University Inn has come to a screeching halt has yielded only more questions.
More than a year ago, representatives of the then-new owner told The Gazette that the hotel at 1839 Merchant St. was going to be transformed into a Guesthouse International Inn and Suites and was owned by Falcon Sunflower Services. Mohammed Elsalmi was the listed agent for the hotel and spoke to The Gazette for the article. He said the hotel was owned by his father, Dr. Ghazi Elsalmi.
In the article, Mohammed Elsalmi promised a luxury hotel with more than 50 rooms including suites and presidential suites. He also said the hotel would have meeting rooms, an outdoor pool, restaurant and Internet access.
Today, Mohammed Elsalmi and Falcon Sunflower Services seem to have dropped off the map. Phone calls to Elsalmi by The Gazette have not been returned.
A search at the Lyon County Register of Deeds office showed that Falcon Sunflower Services listed no mortgage on the property when it was registered. The last item that was recorded was a warranty deed. No articles of incorporation for Falcon Sunflower were filed with the office, but a visit to the Kansas Secretary of State’s Web site took care of that question.
According to the Kansas Secretary of State’s Web site, Falcon Sunflower Services was formed Aug. 11, 2005. The company’s status site was forfeited on July 15 of this year for failure to file an annual report. The report was due on April 15.
A search by Lyon County District Court found no mechanic’s liens. There was nothing on record dealing with that property in the search that went from Jan. 2006 to present.
Emporia Code Services chief Martin Peres said the property has a current building permit, issued Dec. 6, 2006. Peres said a representative of Code Services was at the property on May 10 for some sheet-rock inspections.
Peres said it’s a mystery to him too what has happened to the project.
gazette_reader (anonymous) says...
Does "A search at the Lyon County Register of Deeds office showed that Falcon Sunflower Services listed no mortgage on the property when it was registered." mean that they did, indeed, own the property, but paid for it up front instead of taking out a mortgage on it?
A lot of things could have gone wrong here. Maybe as the inspections went on, they discovered that the level of renovations they wanted to do was not financially feasible. Maybe they discovered the building was structurally unsound. Maybe the family had a huge blowout and they broke off their business arrangements. Maybe the father died. Maybe they drove around town, saw that there are four houses for sale in every block and decided the town couldn't support a luxury hotel. Any of these things could cause a group to cut their losses and pull out of a project.
I would have to reread the original article, but how did the Gazette originally make contact with Mohammed Elsalmi? I'm now having visions of this random person calling up the Gazette and simply announcing he's the man in charge of University Inn, and the Gazette running a story without any further investigation as to whether or not he was legit. Did Falcon Sunflower Services actually file for the building permit? What ID does ECS require to acquire a permit? Could some random person just walk in a get a permit for any building they want?
Was this all a cover for something more sinister?
July 31, 2007 at 3:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
Its a eye sore and I wish it would get cleaned back up. It really turned into a rat hole.
July 31, 2007 at 11:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )