Community leaders in hard hats toured the Keefer House Hotel Friday. Courtesy | CL Real Estate

Workers are nearly done with structural work at the Keefer House Hotel, as owner CL Real Estate LLC has extended the completion date to late August.

“I haven’t seen it personally, but I work next to the building and I see consistent activity and work over there, so I’m sure they’re coming along well,” said City of Hillsdale Mayor Adam Stockford. “I hope they get their stuff done and don’t run into any more hiccups.”

Construction on the Keefer will finish in late August, according to Nick Fox, CL Real Estate’s vice president of construction management. Workers have nearly completed the building’s structure, and are planning soon to begin installing electricity, plumbing, and drywall. 

The city’s Tax Increment Finance Authority bought the Keefer and the Dawn Theater for $410,000 in 2016. TIFA agreed to sell the Keefer to CL Real Estate for $10,000 and dismiss the remaining balance if the company finished the restoration on time. 

The company initially planned to finish construction in November 2020, but by late last year, had pushed the deadline to “early summer 2024.” CL Real Estate hired Fox last year to “double down” on finishing the project.

“I want to thank Nick Fox, the guy they brought in to move things along, because he met with me personally and said, ‘You have my word that we’re going to get this thing moving,’” Stockford said. “He stuck to his guns and he’s done a great job.” 

Hotel Investment Services will operate the hotel and its restaurant, according to a press release.

“The Keefer House Hotel will be a special place that will not only serve the Hillsdale community well but will be one of those hotels that will attract visitors looking to step back in time,” said HIS CEO Ron Wilson in a press release. “Hotels were a destination to those looking for a welcome stop for fine dining, entertaining, celebrations, and a well-appointed guest room.”

After finishing construction, the operator will need time to prepare, so it could take four to six weeks until the hotel opens, according to Brant Cohen ’18, CL Real Estate senior development associate.

“The operator can come in and start preparing for opening, begin training, bringing the systems, bringing the furniture,” Cohen said. “Depends on how soon they can get in, how much training they can do outside of this building. We’re not ready to pinpoint exactly when we’re opening.”

CL Real Estate opened the property to local leaders and media on April 5. Fox and Cohen led a tour through the building starting in the basement. They did not allow photography of the building’s interior.

Workers were on track to finish the building’s interior structure within “a week and a half” from the tour, according to Fox. Once that is done, they will remove temporary supports, finish installing electricity, and install plumbing and drywall. 

The basement will feature storage, refrigeration, and a preparation space for the hotel’s kitchen. An elevator will connect the building’s floors, according to Cohen.

Workers have finished waterproofing the basement and replacing its floor with concrete, according to Fox. There is some moisture, but workers installed drainage and pumps to prevent any issues. 

“We did have to dig down and we built it back up again,” Fox said. “It was pretty bad.”

The basement still features temporary supports between the floor and ceiling, as it helps maintain the building’s structure which workers have nearly completed.

“That’s there now because you’ve got to start down here,” Fox said. “We had to go in and change all of the structure to steel.”

On the hotel’s first floor, there will be an annex space, bar, lobby, kitchen, and restaurant, according to Fox. Workers have been working on reinforcing the main floor’s structure with metal beams, especially near a former stairway. 

Workers saved the building’s radiators to decorate the lobby, Fox said. The lobby’s original tile floors are currently covered during construction, but CL Real Estate plans to preserve them for the hotel. It does not yet feature a bar, but the company plans to install one.

The restaurant sits behind the lobby through a doorway. The space, which features high ceilings, will be able to seat 45 people, according to Cohen. Behind the restaurant lies the kitchen, where workers have begun installing electrical wiring. 

One set of stairs connects the first floor with the second floor, which will feature the hotel’s guest rooms and sitting area, according to Fox.

The hotel will host 34 rooms total featuring private bathrooms, while it originally had 50 to 55 much smaller rooms, according to Cohen. The rooms will range from about 250 to 500 square feet.

Fox said workers preserved the exterior load-bearing walls around the rooms, but are finishing framing the interior walls separating rooms from one another.

“This is the original layout of the hall, but we can change the interior rooms,” Cohen said.

The second floor itself was sagging, but Fox said workers have since leveled and reinforced it. Workers are also reinforcing where the second stairway used to connect with the second floor, according to Fox.

“We had to reinforce up here so that we could finish all that work,” Fox said. “Once that’s done, it will support itself, then we can take this shoring out.”

City of Hillsdale Zoning Administrator Alan Beeker, who went on the tour, said he remembers a pub in the building’s basement from when he was in high school. Richard Moore, president of Moore Insurance Services, said he remembers the building sitting vacant for years. 

“It’s a building from 1885, so it’s been here almost for 140 years of constantly-changing development and neglect,” Fox said. 

Stockford said he hopes CL Real Estate can finish the project without facing any more obstacles.

“If they complete it like they say they’re going to,” Stockford said, “it should be a wonderful boon to the downtown.”