The Keefer House Hotel in downtown Hillsdale. Gemma Flores | Collegian
The Hillsdale City Council voted 6–3 at its Dec. 15 meeting to grant CL Real Estate Development until June 30 to finish the Keefer House Hotel, its sixth extension for the project.
The vote extends a tax incentive under the Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act to encourage the redevelopment of public buildings that are functionally unusable. CL Real Estate now has until the end of June to acquire a use and occupancy permit to ensure the building is safe to inhabit after failing to meet the previous deadline of Dec. 31, 2025.
Mayor Scott Sessions voted against the resolution with councilmen Jacob Bruns and Matt Bentley, who represent Wards 1 and 2, respectively.
“The project has already received several extensions, and progress has not met agreed-upon timeliness,” Sessions said. “I am hopeful that the hotel will be completed by June 30, 2026. However, based on my walkthrough, I question whether it will be completed by that date.”
Brant Cohen, senior development associate at CL Real Estate Development, led councilmembers on a tour of the hotel before the Dec. 15 meeting. He told the council at the meeting that most of the drywall has been installed throughout the hotel. Flooring is almost finished on the third floor, and crews are preparing to install flooring on the second floor.
“The cold weather has prevented them from finishing painting and doing additional repairs on the front,” Cohen said. “They are working on coming up with a plan to section each part of it to keep it warmer to continue painting and get rid of the primer, paint the stairs, all that stuff on the front side.”
CL Real Estate Development has not yet applied for a temporary occupancy permit, Cohen said, but the company hopes to get it by the end of January.
“We are working rapidly to get there,” Cohen said. “We have committed to overtime work on the weekends, so if you drive by, you’ll see crews there on Saturdays and Sundays. If you drive by late at night, most nights, you’ll see some level of crews working well until about 8 o’clock at night.”
Ward 3 councilman Bob Flynn asked Cohen if this was the last time the council would see him.
“As I stand here today, the plan is to be done before that date,” Cohen said. “We have continued to double our efforts, to work harder.”
Ward 2 councilman Will Morrisey voted for the resolution.
“I toured the building on the day the vote was taken and saw significant progress,” Morrisey said. “The structural problems have been fixed. A fire escape has been added to the back, as is required by the building code. The remainder of the project consists of historic preservation work and other non-structural fixes.”
Morrisey said the important parts of the construction have been completed. Crews replaced old wooden beams with steel beams and installed sump pumps in the basement.
“When it was built in 1885, its interior design was acceptable to guests,” Morrisey said. “For example, there was one bathroom for every four guest rooms. In the 1950s and 1960s, that arrangement was no longer acceptable.”
Because the hotel has been unused for decades, Morrisey said, he is willing to be patient with the progress.
“It is important to know that the project is much more complex than it appears from the outside of the building,” Morrisey said. “Only when you walk through it can you appreciate the scale of the work.”
Flynn also voted for the resolution.
“I’d like to see the project completed,” Flynn said. “I know it’s been several years, but after touring the building last month, it does seem they have rounded the proverbial corner and are nearing completion.”
He said he hopes the hotel will be finished by the end of June.
“Maybe, with a bit of luck, a little sooner than that,” Flynn said. “I truly believe it will be a benefit, not only to our downtown, but to the entire city, once it’s completed.”
