Hotel owner faces 233 criminal charges in Wichita Falls
The owner of a dilapidated hotel by the Falls did not show up for an eminent domain hearing Friday. If he had, he would have gone to jail. An officer was waiting for him.
Rajendra Patel faces 233 Class C misdemeanor warrants in Wichita Falls. Municipal Court Administrator Stan Horton said those charges carry a total of $299,818 in fines.
Horton said he can't go get Patel where he lives in Oklahoma, but he's has people on the lookout for him if he shows up in Texas.
All the warrants are related to code violations at the abandoned hotel by the Wichita River.
In Patel's absence, a three-person commission on Friday set the fair price for the city to pay for the property at $750,000.
That price is $100,000 more than that set by an appraiser but only half the value assigned by the Wichita Appraisal District.
The hotel, considered a showplace Sheraton when it was built in 1985, has been vacant for several years. It has become a target for vandals, vagrants and urban explorers with video cameras.
Appraiser Jim Henderson told the three members of the commission the old hotel is in such poor condition it would be difficult to salvage anything but the parking lot. He said the value is primarily in the land.
The hotel is adjacent to the Wichita River and part of the building is in a floodway. The building has flooded at least three times over the years when the river left its banks.
“I’m not sure how they got a permit to build the thing,” Henderson said. “There’s nothing you can do with it.”
The hotel was built with $10 million in industrial revenue bonds authorized by the city. It had 170 rooms, an indoor pool and a 5,000-square-foot ballroom. In its heyday it hosted Vice President George H.W. Bush and other dignitaries.
It changed owners and names several times over the years, went into a decline, and was abandoned about 2012.
Assistant City Manager Paul Menzies told commissioners the city began talks with Patel in 2018 and was told plans were in the works to do something with the building -- but nothing ever happened.
He said the city made a couple of offers for the property, but they were not accepted. In November 2023 the City Council approved moving ahead with the use of eminent domain to acquire the property and tear down the building.
Menzies said it’s too early to say how the building will be demolished or what the cost of leveling it would be. He said the land would be used for park space along the river and possibly for expansion of the city’s adjacent RV park.
The eminent domain proceedings now move forward in 30th District Court.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Panel puts a price tag on old hotel by the Falls