Developer used $1.6M from Michigan grant to pay late taxes

A California-based developer spent about $1.6 million of a $5 million taxpayer-funded grant to pay off back taxes owed to Oakland County on the property of the former Embassy Suites hotel in Southfield that’s long been an eyesore alongside Interstate 696. (David Guralnick/The Detroit News/TNS)

State Rep. Samantha Steckloff, D-Farmington Hills, right, seen here in 2024, said she was not aware when she sponsored the $5 million state grant for the Southfield hotel that $1.6 million would be used to pay off taxes from 2019, 2020 and 2021. (Katy Kildee, The Detroit News/The Detroit News/TNS)

The nine-story, 289-room former Embassy Suites in Southfield ceased operations in 2019 and has had no utility services since 2021 amid a tangle of liens, divided ownership and increasing deterioration and vandalism at the building. The property is now headed for auction. (David Guralnick/The Detroit News/TNS)