Rozier tells GlobeSt.com she also wants to put a $7-million retail, office and loft development on an adjacent 3-acre site.
"I already have an approved franchise agreement with Quality Suites," she explains. "We're waiting for the city to clear the title."
Rozier says the city told her she could buy the land for $55,000 an acre, and a purchase agreement was signed. She had a ground-breaking ceremony last summer, but now the property sits empty.
Now, however, the city is being sued by RDC Corp, which says it had a claim to the land. The company, headed by Patricia Yulkowski, had an option on the land and presented a $40-million project. City leaders said the plan was deficient, however, and instead moved forward with Rozier's development. Rozier's plans were halted by the lawsuit. An Oakland County Circuit Judge is expected to settle the matter soon.
To make matters more interesting, Yulkowski's brother Leon was just named deputy mayor for incoming Mayor Willie Payne. Leon was vice president of RDC, but says he will now step down.
Meanwhile, Rozier submitted a letter to the Pontiac Downtown Development Authority asking for $350,000, claiming she spent that amount putting the current development together, and should be reimbursed by the city for her efforts.
The DDA had agreed to use $2 million in Tax Increment Financing bonds to pay for infrastructure and other costs for the new development, on the basis that it would improve the Downtown area.
"The city shouldn't have represented to us that the land was clear to purchase," Rozier says. "We've spent a lot of money on this project, and the longer it takes, the more it costs us."
She says the city has also neglected to remove a vacant dining train car, the former "Woodward Diner" that has been vacant for about a year, from the property.
Rozier, an African-American, says the city has not treated minority developers well.
The property is mainly used now for a parking lot for the Phoenix Center and as a staging area for the annual Woodward Dream Cruise.
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