A developer who has worked on hotels in downtown Royal Oak and elsewhere is taking a swing at Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood.

Namou Hotel Group Inc., based in Madison Heights, has purchased a funky-shaped 3.1-acre site immediately across from the Detroit Medical Center with an early vision to build a pair of new hotels there.

The site at 4 E. Alexandrine St. at Woodward Avenue would house a lifestyle hotel and an extended stay/multifamily concept, said Shawn Namou, an executive with the company. The lifestyle hotel would have things like a rooftop bar, co-working space and a fitness center, and the extended-stay hotel would have fully-equipped kitchens, communal lounges and recreational areas, Namou said in an email.

Namou said his company sees a market for both visions.

“In the initial phases of planning, our group recognizes, through internal data, a distinct need for our unique concepts that are currently absent in Detroit,” Namou said. “Our prime site, centrally located around hospitals, universities, and major entertainment hubs, positions us strategically. Detroit’s demand for new rooms is escalating with the influx of national events and developments. Our optimism is particularly strong regarding the drivers within Midtown, making it a focal point for our bullish approach.”

Mind you, it’s early in the development stages — Namou finalized the purchase from the Koza family’s Southfield-based Group 10 Management late last year for a shade over $2 million, according to real estate information service CoStar Group Inc. — so timelines are pretty squishy right now. 

Namou said a conservative estimate would be to have both hotels open by early 2027, although that could change. 

In the fall 2018, Namou Hotel Group opened the Hyatt Place hotel in downtown Royal Oak with 120 rooms at 422 N. Main St., Crain’s reported at the time. Namou operates the hotel, and it was developed by Trailhead RO LLC, registered to Akram Namou. Namou Hotel Group worked on the project with Versa Development, now based in Royal Oak. 

New hotel space would fill a need in the area, particularly for people needing to stay near the Detroit Medical Center hospital system, said Brandon Leversee, a locally based director for hospitality research company HVS Inc.

While there are options in the New Center area with the Hotel St. Regis and downtown, those aren’t especially convenient if you have a loved one staying in, for example, the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan or Harper University Hospital.

The site is immediately north of where a development team has long envisioned building high-rises with multifamily and hotel space, although that project has been beset by delays and tax incentive extensions. 

Royal Oak-based AQRE Advisors LLC coordinated the online auction during which the site was sold.