Battle of inches stops rebuilding of historic Holly Hotel 1 year after fire

HOLLY, Mich. (FOX 2) - The historic Holly Hotel's rebuilding plan has been stopped as owners deal with the many challenges.

Now after last summer's large fire that damaged the local landmark, a dispute over just a few inches has the project halted.

The hotel and the arcade which stood in this now-vacant lot were damaged in a fine in June of 2022.  The owner, George Kutlenios, started to rebuild in December but in March, the ownership of the neighboring vacant lot changed hands

And the new owner, Jeremiah Roberts, took issue with the property line.

"The building has been there for 140 some years, over a century - and the arcade even longer," Kutlenios said. "So the property lines were kind of established when those two buildings were built, over a century and a half ago."

Back in 1891, when the hotel was built, it butted up against the arcade that used to be there. In fact, it went over the property line in some places by an inch, seven inches in others.

And then there was the issue of the roof. The eaves cross the property line by about 14 inches, and according to the hotel owner that's a real issue for the new owner of this vacant lot.

"He said he wanted us to cut off the eaves in case in the future he wanted to build a taller building there," Kutlenios said.

They tried for months to reach a comprise.

"When the meeting was just about over, he said 'Why don’t I just sell you that 14 inches,'" the hotel owner said. "I basically stated, so this is what this was about - you were just looking for a payday."

Which pushed George Kutlenios to file a lawsuit and leaving the hotel in this condition.

"It looks horrible just sitting there," said one resident. "It makes the town look sad."

More coverage:

• Historic Holly Hotel, known for its ghost stories, damaged in multi-building fire
• Historic Holly Hotel owners vow to rebuild after massive downtown fire

Adam Freese opened the Furbaby Boutique in March and was counting on the hotel.

"It hurts everybody," he said. "There is a reason why stores are closing. The draw that the restaurant brings - we would see a 20% increase in foot traffic from the restaurant alone."

FOX 2 reached out to Jeremiah Roberts, the owner of the lot, who told FOX 2 "Unfortunately, most of the information out there regarding the Holly Hotel is false. I am unable to comment further at this time."

The hotel owner is convinced the law is on his side, but admits it may take a while for this issue to resolve.