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MetroPlex sold, future plans unknown
By Kalea Hall
liberty
A hotel and condominium developer recently purchased the former MetroPlex complex.
Kutlick Realty LLC of Boardman completed the sale of the hotel, restaurant and convention center for $850,000 to BLI of MetroPlex LTD.
“It is an extremely well-positioned piece of property on a major interstate between New York and Chicago,” said Bill Kutlick of Kutlick Realty. “A lot of people went to that convention center.”
BLI of MetroPlex was started in December by Ronald A. Anderson of Girard, according to the Ohio Secretary of State.
Anderson operates Universal Development, a condominium home and apartment developer throughout Ohio and Western Pennsylvania, according to its website,
Anderson could not be reached Wednesday to comment on his plans for the property.
Universal Development is at 1607 Motor Inn Drive in Suite No.1. The MetroPlex is at 1620 Motor Inn Drive.
Universal properties include Hunter Woods condominiums of Canfield; Stonegate condominiums of Hermitage; Ashberry Village apartments in Niles; and Evans Lake apartments in Poland.
The 153-room former Rodeway Inn/MetroPlex hotel, restaurant and convention center exceeds 300,000 square feet and sits on more than 11 acres. It was a go-to place for meetings and events, especially during the late 1980s.
In March 2014, former owner Indira Periyasamy shut down the establishment after a small fire caused about $75,000 in damage.
Aswin Ganapathy Hospitality Associates LLC was the listed buyer on the Trumbull County Auditor’s website. The company purchased the MetroPlex for $900,000 in November 2009.
The MetroPlex at one time housed a Holiday Inn and was a Mahoning Valley destination for meetings, banquets and weddings.
In recent years, it housed a Rodeway Inn and a bar called Goodies Grill and Lounge until the fire last March.
Last month, the former MetroPlex Hotel and Conference Center operators filed a $12.5 million federal lawsuit against several Liberty and Girard officials.
The lawsuit alleges the police and fire officials engaged in a campaign to harass the hotel and its manager, causing the hotel to fail, and that officials maliciously prosecuted the manager based on her Indian ethnicity.
The case is assigned to Youngstown-based U.S. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson.
The MetroPlex property was put up for auction last year, but a sale never went through. After Kutlick placed the property on the market, he was able to have it sold in 120 days.
“It was a challenging property. There was a lot of work in the 120 days,” he said.