We kind of figured there was something suspicious about the timing of Burton-Katzman’s bankruptcy filing last week.

Well, it turns out  it was a looming court-ordered deadline of Sept. 1 to pay the City of Dearborn $5 million in penalties related to the unbuilt development project in west Dearborn that triggered the bankruptcy filing, according to the City of Dearborn.

Instead of paying the fine, the Burton-Katzman company (West Village Commons, LLC, and Westminister Homes LLC) on Aug. 26 filed bankruptcy under Chapter 7.

“The City believes the Aug. 26 bankruptcy filing was a strategic move to avoid paying the $5 million due on Sept. 1,” the city said in a statement issued Monday.

City officials in a statement say they still plan to hold the individuals and other entities behind Burton-Katzman Development Company, Inc. responsible for the court-ordered payment and other court-ordered provisions.

For a bit more on the history behind this battle, click the link below.

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In a move that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to those who have been following the very public fight between the city of Dearborn and developer Burton-Katzman, three of the Bingham Farms corporate entities have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The bankruptcy includes West Village Commons LLC, the entity developing a mixed-use project in Dearborn. The LLC lists $3.5 million in assets, mostly land, and $11.2 million in secured and unsecured debts, according to Crain’s.

West Village Commons LLC is one of three of the Bingham Farms corporate entities controlled by Peter Burton, Bob Katzman and other investors who filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Thursday.

We have written here many times about the court fight between Burton-Katzman and the city of Dearborn, in which the city won a court order to force the developers to complete two buildings agreed to under a contract with the city. Even the 75,000-square-foot building, currently on the site, isn’t fully developed.

The bankruptcy move by Burton-Katzman was no doubt a way to avoid having to abide by that court order to finish the Dearborn development.

Also filing is Westminster Homes LLC, a home development arm used by the group of investors, which lists $225,000 in assets and $1.4 million in debt, according to Crain’s.

Burton-Katzman Development Co. also filed bankruptcy, but it apparently has no assets.

The Dearborn Chamber of Commerce has set up a networking group as a way to help its members generate new business. In a press release issued last week, the Chamber says its networking group -– Chamber Connect -– is designed to generate business opportunities through referrals.

Membership in this group, which only began this year, is limited to one representative per business category to enable Chamber members “to acquire valid leads to help grow their companies.” Chamber Connect has 19 members and passes between 10-17 referrals each meeting – totaling 20-34 referrals a month, according to the Chamber of Commerce.

“The Dearborn Chamber Connect is a great group of people who are just as passionate about helping each other as they are with their own businesses,” says Ryan O’Hara of Sphinx Technology Solutions in the Chamber’s press release. “Since joining the group, I have seen a significant spike in sales thanks to the commitment of this group to the success of its members. Every single member has a valid contribution to make.”

For more information or to request an application, you can contact the Chamber at 313-584-6100.

Dearborn's Hyatt Hotel has a new owner.

In other hotel news in Dearborn, The Detroit News is reporting that the 772-room Hyatt Regency, whose owners defaulted on a $32.5 million loan last year, is under contract to be sold for $12.5 million and will remain a Hyatt, according to the Chicago broker behind the deal.

We wrote about the hotel being sold back in April but a price tag or the name of the new owner had not been disclosed.

We still don’t know the name of the new owner but the good news is that the Hyatt is going into the hands of a hotel investment company.

Dallas-based Ashford bought the 34-year-old hotel for $40 million in 2007 but later defaulted on the loan.

The deal should officially close by end of December.

The contract is for $20 million but the final price will drop to $12.5 million because of a “structural issue that will be addressed,” The Detroit News Reports.

Now the question becomes whether the new hotel owners have any dollars to contribute to the construction of a convention center in Dearborn . . .

If you are thinking about heading to Dearborn City Hall Park today for the free Jazz on the Ave concert, which begins at 7 p.m., you should first plan to stop at Green Brain Comics, located just down the street from City Hall.

From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today (Aug. 25) you will have the chance to meet Ted Raimi – who has starred in numerous television and film projects (probably best known for his performances in all three blockbuster Spiderman films directed by his brother, Sam Raimi) – and preview the new web series “Playing Dead.” Also on hand will be Detroit visual artist SLAW. The Playing Dead web series is a dark comedy, written by and starring Suzanne Keilly, about a down on her luck actress that takes a part time job as Death to pay the bills.

Raimi’s appearance at Green Brain Comics, 13210 Michigan Ave., precedes a screening and benefit on Aug. 28 at the Detroit Film Theatre of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Hosted by WDET 101.9 FM’s Ann Delisi, the live performance event includes creative independent rock performances from Detroit artists Troy Gregory and Lightening Love, a question and answer session with Raimi and Keilly, and features the work of Detroit visual artist SLAW. All proceeds from the Aug. 28 event benefit the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit.

For more information check out Green Brain’s website HERE or call 313-582-9444

The Quality Inn at Michigan and Brady in Dearborn will soon be razed.

Say good-bye to the Quality Inn, the long-vacant, badly decaying building at the corner of Michigan and Brady.

If all goes as planned, the building will come down by the end of September, according to officials in Dearborn’s economic development department. City officials this week are expected to meet with the demolition company to go over some final details so work can begin.

The property, owned by the Dearborn Historical Museum, will be used to expand the museum’s space and a portion will be put on the market for interested parties to develop with light retail. At one point, the site was considered a possible site for student housing for those who attend the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

With the economy still weak in the knees and banks tight-fisted with loans these days, it is hard to image the property being quickly developed. Even so, removing this eyesore will go a long way to improving the look of west Dearborn.

Now, if we could just get some of those other rotting buildings along Michigan Avenue in west Dearborn removed . . .

Hampton Inn Renamed Dearborn West Village Inn

Plans to build a Sonic burger at the corner of Michigan and Telegraph by summer’s end likely will not happen this year, according to the city’s economic development department.

It appears there are a collection of reasons Sonic will not go into the site this year. One condition was that the vacant Dearborn Theater (aka Showcase Cinema) had to be razed to give the Sonic site more visibility.

The theater has since been razed and cleanup is nearly complete but it apparently wasn’t fast enough. The Sonic project is now on the bubble, which might not be all bad for Dearborn. Perhaps another fast food establishment on a prime piece of real estate isn’t the right thing for Dearborn.

On the site of the now demolished theater, a new Hampton Inn motel still is expected to be built. Developer Ned Hakim, who has his hands full getting his Holiday Inn Express readied for travelers just west of the vacant site, is the developer for the proposed Hampton Inn.

As we have written here several times, the current Hampton Inn, just east of Brady on Michigan Avenue, was forced to make a name chance because the motel’s owner did not want to make the necessary remodeling changes to keep the  Hampton Inn franchise license.

So the Hampton Inn has now been renamed the Dearborn West Village Inn.

Dearborn’s outdoor warning system will be receiving four new sirens as a way to address city and resident complaints that the present Wayne County-installed system is inadequate.

In March 2009, we wrote how the 12 sirens installed by Wayne County weren’t enough to cover the same geographic area that the city’s 28 “old” sirens previously did.

At that time, Wayne County promised the city four more sirens would be forthcoming as a way to fix the sound shortage.

Now, more than a year later (following pressure from Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. , with support from Wayne County Commissioner Gary Woronchak) four additional sirens are expected to be installed this fall.

The city says the four additional sirens will be installed in these areas:

•  Whitmore-Bolles school area
•  near the Oakwood Common retirement community
•  near the Dearborn Hills Golf Course and
•  near Cherry Hill and Outer Drive

These are many of the same areas residents complained they were unable to hear sirens following heavy storms in June. Click HERE for that story.

In addition to those four new sirens, Dearborn will benefit from the University of Michigan-Dearborn’s installation of four sirens to serve its campus on Evergreen between Ford Road and Michigan Avenue.

Further, the city will be pursuing two to four more sirens through federal Homeland Security grants. These sirens will have voice capabilities to alert people to seek cover indoors, or provide other specific directions.

The plan is to install these additional sirens in areas where large crowds typically gather outdoor, such as for athletic events, at visitor attractions or during festivals.

Even with the additional sirens, Dearborn public safety officials continue to say that the sirens are “meant to get the attention of people who are outdoors to alert them to seek shelter” and “not meant to be the primary warning for people already inside. In fact, they may not be heard inside houses or buildings.”

Dearborn advises residents to monitor TV and radio reports if weather conditions seem threatening and invest in weather radios or all-hazard radios to better ensure they remain informed.

The Dearborn City Council on Monday is expected to officially approve a plan to extend public swimming at Crowley Pool for an additional two weeks, a decision that could cost the city as much as $4,500, according to one city official.

The measure was approved at a council committee meeting Thursday evening and will become official during a vote at Monday’s meeting.

The Save our Pools neighborhood group that organized to save Crowley and five other neighborhood pools (Summer Stephens, Ten Eyck, Whitmore, Lapeer & Hemlock), was again the driving force to convince Council to keep Crowley open for an additional two weeks. Historically, the city has only kept Levagood and Ford Woods open until Labor Day.

While the city needs to do some fiscal belt tightening this year, this was one check approval elected officials weren’t going to deny.

Ticket Prices Lowered, Sales Extended Through Aug. 16

Here is a great way to help our Dearborn libraries continue to provide the great services they do to our community.

The Dearborn Public Library Foundation is having a luncheon fundraising event at Park Place on August 21 at noon.

All proceeds from the fundraiser will go to the Foundation, which of course helps provide the additional funds necessary to enhance Dearborn’s library’s programs, services and facilities. The update of the Children’s Area at the Henry Ford Centennial Library is an example of the work completed by funds given to the library from the Foundation.

Now here is even better news: due to the generosity of the many sponsors of this event, the Foundation is lowering ticket sale prices and extending ticket sales through August 16.

Tickets are available at all Dearborn Library locations or by calling 313-943-2330.

Sponsors for this event include: AWE Computers, The Henry Ford, Century 21-Curran & Christie, Oakwood Healthcare, Hatteras Printing, Fidelity Bank, State Farm -Bob Zakar, Library Design Associates and Greenfield Village T-Drivers.