Dave:

Nice article.

Last time I looked, father Sam Shaheen (deceased) was a chiropractor, and son Sam is a surgeon. I do not believe it is accurate to claim that brother Peter is a doctor as well. I do not believe he is. He is one smart developer, for sure, but...

I still dispute all of the puffery about the Double Tree being a convention center. Baloney. It is a hotel with a big convertible ballroom, and rises only to the level of being a conference center, which is a far cry from being a convention center. Too small.

First of all, a convention center needs to have a large number of hotel rooms close at hand. The total can be argued, but it can be near a 1000 or more. Bay City is no where near that number, even with the new Marriott going in. Adding in the rooms from Saginaw Township makes something more possible sooner, but can Bay City beat Saginaw to the draw on that one ? Questionable.

I do believe that the Shaheens will deliver a convention center in due time, but it will take another hotel or more, beyond the Marriott at least, and would likely be a free standing facility like the big one in Lansing.

The picture you paint of the Double Tree is something I would expect to see in Chamber of Commerce publication. There is more to the story about that financing, and who is getting stuck with what, all of which is inevitable following the nature of the financing plan Palenik engineered, and left town.

Lets leave that conversation for another day over some drinks.

Frank Starkweather

What's the occupancy rate at the DoubleTree? Are they now paying on their debt on a regular basis? I'd like to see those figures--not only for the DoubleTree but for all hotels/motels in Bay County and the Great Lakes Bay Region--what an awkward moniker!!