Hotel that lost Hilton branding after being accused of denying service to ICE agents is sold
The Lakeville hotel that hit the headlines in January when it was accused of denying service to ICE agents in the Twin Cities to conduct Operation Metro Surge has been sold. A certificate of real estate value shows that the Lakeville Inn, at 20851 Keokuk Avenue, sold for $8.5 million on March 26.
The buyers are named on the certificate as Wisconsin-based Elevate LLC, but the phone number listed on the document is that of Jaymin Patel, CEO of Chicago-based JAMP Hotels, which owns a series of hotels across the Upper Midwest.
The Lakeville hotel came under scrutiny in early January when the Department of Homeland Security accused it of “maliciously” denying service to its agents, after thousands were sent to Minnesota to conduct the at-times brutal immigration crackdown.
Hilton issued a statement saying that the Lakeville hotel – then known as the Hampton Inn by Hilton – saying that its properties are “open to everyone,” and that the independent operators of the hotel had apologized for the actions of its team.
But Hilton then revoked the use of its name after far-right influencer Nick Sortor visited the hotel while posing as a DHS agent, and was told the hotel’s policies on renting to ICE agents hadn’t changed.
The $8.5 million sale price marks a 29% discount on the $11.9 million the previous owners, Lakeville Hotel LLC, had paid for the property
By Adam Uren