Mayor Gray owes Hamid Zahedi an apology

In an article appearing in the Intelligencer Journal New Era titled “Mayor, Lancaster city scrutinize Hotel Brunswick”, the following appears:

“Gray said the owner, New York-based investor Hamid Zahedi, has told city officials the tenant is responsible for management and upkeep.

“’The person who is the owner I don’t think has ever been in Lancaster,’ Gray said.

“He said the city has made offers to help revitalize the faded hotel property, such as extending East Marion Street through Lancaster Square or creating a drive in the public square to serve a new hotel lobby. Those offers have gone nowhere.”

Either Gray’s memory is dimming or this is a blatant misrepresentation. Hamid Zahedi spent a number of years living between the Brunswick Hotel which he managed and his home in northern New Jersey (not New York). He has not spent time in Lancaster since leasing the hotel a couple of years ago. We understand that he and Gray are acquainted. Zahedi has spoken of Gray’s antagonistic attitude. (So had Molly Henderson.)

Zahedi is one of four partners, the majority partner living on the West Coast. He is an émigré from Iran. For the first time since his father fled with his family, Zahedi recently bravely revisited Iran for several months to sort out long neglected family business.

The Brunswick has been for sale for decades, for the most part owned by the original lender. Apparently Zahedi and his partners were enthralled with the ‘brick and mortar’ but were naive concerning the market for downtown hotel business. It has been a continuing drain on their resources, requiring millions in investment over the years.

Zahedi and his partners are real estate investors, not hotel operators. They got in way over their heads. (Editor’s note: The Watchdog and Zahedi have long been friends, meeting for dinner from time to time to discuss world affairs, rarely business.)  The opening of the downtown Marriott was the coup de grace.

Zahedi and his partners have long been looking for a buyer. They haven’t found anyone that dumb. As the Watchdog, a builder investor said decades ago and continuously over the years, he wouldn’t take the Brunswick if it were given to him because it would never generate sufficient revenue to cover minimal operational expenses and, unlike the Marriott,  real estate taxes. 

There is no question that the Brunswick is a downtown problem. Gray’s support of the Convention Center / Marriott Project instead of an original plan to place a recommended smaller conference center at the Brunswick in Lancaster Square was a major cause of this blighted area in the center of downtown. Had PAM been better managed by Paul Ware and his fellow trustees, the Brunswick would have been the ideal dormitory for high school students from Asia and elsewhere, much as Linden Hall in Lititz is.

In any case, Gray should apologize. The mayor, also a friend, is a good man and this is a serious problem, but he stumbled here by this misrepresentation.

Here is a link to more information concerning the ingering Lancaster Square / Brunswick Hotel problematic history.