In its hey-day the little building with a bright orange roof beckoned many a weary traveler to enjoy a fresh hot meal at the I-94 and M-139 crossroads in Benton Township. The former Howard Johnson's restaurant at the interchange was a major attraction until the mid-70's, when it changed hands several times and was last known as The Purple Onion. Vacant, deteriorating rapidly and a serious eyesore for many years, the building will finally meet a wrecking ball soon after local building authorities worked diligently to get it resolved.
Benton Township Building Inspector Tom Baldwin tells me that his counterparts at Sodus Township have successfully condemned the building and a large dumpster has been filled several times with furniture and equipment from inside and soon the building itself will be demolished once and for all.
A joint agreement was achieved and the building will come down, ridding one of the gateways to the community of another bit of blight.
Whether the former Rodeway Inn behind the former diner building will be next in line for the wrecking ball remains to be seen. Baldwin says that the former motel property continues to be used as a community half-way house for early release prisoners from the Michigan Corrections system, but may also meet its fate based on conditions there.
To help avoid a repeat of that type of use in the township, Baldwin says that township trustees took action to pass an ordinance change precluding any half-way house operation to be established in any former or converted hotel or motel property in their jurisdiction, or anywhere within 1,500 feet of a church property.
How long the existing use of the former Rodeway Inn fronting along a stretch of I-94 at M-139 will be allowed to continue remains up in the air, but Baldwin is hopeful that it will meet the same fate as the former restaurant up front. Stay tuned.
Baldwin has been working hard to get that entire interchange redeveloped, having successfully removed the former Benton Harbor Holiday Inn Holidome structure in the southwest quadrant of the interchange. That prime piece of real estate is still on the market awaiting a viable re-use. The northwest quadrant has a new plaza that already houses the Sonic Drive-In diner and newly constructed space for several other retail or service industry options. The former Howard Johnson's/Purple Onion building is in the northeast quadrant, and an auto repair facility is in the southeast sector of the interchange.
Leading to the Fairplain Plaza and many other strong and viable business entities, the M-139 crossroads with I-94 is a major gateway to the community.
There is no immediate word on what if anything will replace the former diner in the near future, and it could all hinge on resolution of the former motel property behind it.
