The state isn't the only one with its sights on giving Detroit's crown jewel, Belle Isle, a significant face lift.
Nolan Finley of The Detroit News reports that Hong Kong businessman Jimmy Lai wants to rebuild the Detroit Boat Club on Belle Isle to it original appearance and put up a 100 to 200 room boutique hotel. The project is pegged at $40 million.
The News writes that Lai operates seven hotels near Toronto and Niagra-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and Next Media, the largest media company in Hong Kong.
Finley notes that the investors would have to negotiate with the city for a long term lease.
The club has been around quite a while. Its website hads historical background.
Organized by oarsman on February 18, 1839, it is the oldest continuous rowing club in the world, the oldest boating club in the United States and the oldest social club in Michigan. The Club had five clubhouses at several locations in the Detroit area before it built the fireproof one that opened on Belle Isle on August 4, 1902.
-- A.L.
