Gwinnett Center hotel developer target of multiple lawsuits
The developer of a hotel to be built on county-owned land at the Gwinnett County convention center faces at least four lawsuits filed in Georgia and Florida accusing him and affiliated companies essentially of not paying debts.
The lawsuits against hotel developer Chittranjan “Chuck” Thakkar and companies in which he has an interest raise questions about a project that already faced controversy when a Gwinnett commissioner revealed he had served as a paid consultant for Thakkar.
“You wonder why … he’s got lawsuits all over the place for not paying people,” said James Johnson, a lawyer representing one of the companies suing Thakkar. “It just strikes me as odd that someone could get funding … with these sorts of pending lawsuits against him.”
A lawyer representing Thakkar in several of the cases countered that those cases are without merit.
“Any large business is going to have disputes,” attorney Hennen Ehrenclou said. “In every case in which I represent Mr. Thakkar, or one of his entities, he or his entity has a legitimate defense.”
Gwinnettt County Commission Chairwoman Charlotte Nash declined to comment Friday. Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Lisa Anders said she was unfamiliar with the lawsuits.
Gwinnett Center is owned by the county and operated by the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau. It includes a convention center, a ballroom complex, a performing arts center and a 13,000-seat arena.
County officials and the convention and visitors bureau have said the lack of an on-site hotel has cost the convention center business.
In December 2011, the convention and visitors bureau solicited proposals from companies interested in developing a full-service hotel at the Duluth convention center. The bureau received four proposals from companies interested in building the hotel, including Thakkar’s Nilhan Hospitality LLC.
In February 2012, Commissioner John Heard, an architect who specializes in hotels and schools, disclosed that he had served as a paid consultant for Nilhan Hospitality since January 2012. Heard recused himself from any discussions or decisions related to the deal and resigned from the convention bureau board.
In April 2012 the convention bureau recommended the county accept the proposal from Nilhan, and in December the Gwinnett County Commission voted unanimously to move forward with plans to lease convention center land to Nilhan.
The county plans to lease Nilhan 2 acres for 25 years at $1 a year. The exact terms of that lease are still being negotiated.
Although the Gwinnett County Development Authority, which is a separate entity from the government, served as the issuer of bonds to fund the construction of the hotel, county officials said Nilhan and its partners will bear the full cost of building the hotel.
