- A promise to bring Hillsdale's Keefer House Hotel back to its former glory is just months from being fulfilled, says the developer.
- It's a project that has been plagued by delays due to unanticipated issues, and supply and labor challenges, says Head of Construction Nick Fox of CL Real Estate and Development.
- The old hotel is to reopen as a 34-room boutique hotel and restaurant with some retail space, as well.
JOIN ME FOR A LOOK INSIDE IN THIS VIDEO:
Here in Hillsdale — questions from neighbors about the much delayed Keefer House Hotel: when will it finally be done, why the delays and extensions, and will it be worth it? I decided to find out…starting with a tour of the building with Nick Fox, Vice-President of Construction at CL Real Estate and Development.
"We just got approved to get all the drywall in, so we're going to be able to start all the finishes and get this thing wrapped up by the end of the year," says Fox.
Built during the 19th-century railroad boom, the hotel is said to have hosted such celebrities as Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill Cody, and the Ringling Brothers. With the decline of passenger rail, the building deteriorated and eventually became vacant and derelict.
But the hope now is a 34-guest room boutique hotel and restaurant...with some areas for shopping, too.
Fox admits: it's been a tough project — including flooded foundations, collapsing floors, and no modern plumbing or other systems:
"We had to start in the basement by dewatering, and, basically, building from the ground up again, and supporting a 140-year-old building from literally imploding."
Fox says reinforcements were added throughout. And all while complying with historic preservation restrictions.
Millions over budget, says Fox…but nearing the finish line.
As work continues, I talked with local developer Luke Robson. He's on the board of Hillsdale's downtown development authority — known as the Tax Increment Financing Authority. I asked what the finished hotel would mean to the area.
"This is such a huge project and it's going to be a very visible, tangible benefit for locals, for business owners, and for visitors to Hillsdale," says Robson.
Robson believes the tax abatement the City has given the Hotel's developer is "a no-brainer": "Eventually, that property will come full force onto the tax rolls….It costs the City essentially nothing to offer that sort of incentive."
As for expected effects on Downtown?
Hotel guests, says Robson, "are going to be fantastic for downtown — visiting restaurants, bars at night, you know, going to some boutiques, getting more just pedestrian traffic walking around downtown and benefiting this place, and benefiting from it — it's going to be fantastic for Hillsdale."
Want more FOX 47 News? Here's how you download our Roku app
You can also see the latest news from across our mid-Michigan neighborhoods by liking us on Facebook or following us on X.
