The Keefer House Hotel, located downtown, is undergoing renovations. Jillian Parks | Collegian
The Hillsdale City Council voted 7-1 at its Oct. 6 meeting to grant CL Real Estate Development until Dec. 31 to complete the Keefer House Hotel project.
This new deadline will extend a tax incentive under the Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act to encourage the redevelopment of public buildings that are functionally obsolete. CL Real Estate has until the end of the year to acquire a use and occupancy permit to ensure the building is safe to inhabit. If CL Real Estate fails to meet this deadline, then it can apply for another extension from the council.
Ward 1 Councilman Jacob Bruns voted against the resolution.
“When I was running for City Council, I committed to voting against it,” Bruns told the Collegian. “It’s been five or six times now, and we keep hearing about how it’s going to be the last extension, and that has not been true yet, and I suspect it won’t be true again.”
This is the fifth time the council has extended the deadline for the hotel’s construction, which the company said has suffered delays due to the pandemic, inflation, shipping delays, and unexpected repairs. The Keefer Hotel will be located at 104 N Howell St. in Hillsdale.
Nick Fox, vice president of construction and development at CL Real Estate, said the company got all the inspections it needed in the past few weeks.
“We’ve had a flurry of work,” Fox said. “You can barely walk through there today with all the drywallers and the electricians and carpenters and the mechanics, and it’s just been a great few weeks. We’ve made up quite a bit of time. So we’re on the right path now.”
CL Real Estate acquired the Keefer Hotel in 2018, and construction to redevelop the property began in 2021. When completed, the hotel will have 34 rooms, including suite-style accommodations for long-term stays, according to CL Real Estate’s website. The hotel will also feature a restaurant and bar, along with an event space for meetings and weddings. The Keefer first opened in 1885 as a place where train passengers could stop for a meal or drink.
“They did save a building from falling down,” Bruns said. “It might have otherwise fallen down. So I’ll grant them that. But at this point, it seems like the council is being tugged around on the issue. People are tired of it — of this continually coming up — and they’re ready to be done and to not sign up for projects like this in the future.”
Fox said the weather should not be an issue when it comes to completing the project, unless something drastic happens.
At the meeting, Ward 2 Councilman Matthew Bentley asked how long North Street would be closed due to the construction.
“I don’t want the road closed indefinitely, like Howell was,” Bentley said. “That’s what I’m getting at.”
Fox said North Street should not be closed for more than a week.
Mayor Pro Tem Joshua Paladino said he voted in favor of the resolution to extend the OPRA deadline because the primary purpose of OPRA is to prevent private properties from becoming a public burden.
“I think they have already accomplished that,” Paladino said. “I am less concerned about the economic development aspect of that. I don’t think that’s the council’s primary concern. Our concern is making sure the building is not falling over, and they have accomplished that goal.”
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