- Work on Jackson's Hayes Hotel reconstruction was halted after the State House Appropriations Committee cancelled a $4.5M grant for the project last week.
- A $1M grant for Residents in Action to convert the former T.A. Wilson Academy into a homeless center was also rescinded.
- Both State Senator Sue Shink (D) and State Representative Kathy Schmaltz (R) say they'll fight to have some of that funding restored.
A reconstructed Hayes Hotel was meant to become the crown jewel in the redevelopment of downtown Jackson. Now, according to the developer, the project is dead in the water.
Hayes Hotel developer Collier Gibson says work has been stopped on the hotel since $4.5 million was rescinded from the project by the House Appropriations Committee.
"Ultimately, the $4.5 million is critical to the project being able to move forward," says developer Scott Gibson.
What happened was that the State House Appropriations Committee used a little known rule that allows the Committee to prevent state funding from being carried over from one year to the next.
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"I think everybody was a little bit surprised. This is the first time that's ever, ever happened," says President and CEO of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce Ryan Tarrant. The Chamber has been strongly supportive of reviving the Hayes Hotel building.
And that's not the only project impacted by the House Appropriations Committee's rescission. The decision affects about $645 million in funding across dozens of projects in the state.
Another is a $1 million grant to transform the former T.A. Wilson Academy into a homeless resource center.
"It's a good thing for the community, and I'm really frustrated," says State Senator Sue Shink (D). "My team and I are going to be spending time with them on Thursday, trying to figure out how they'll be moving forward."
One man not troubled by the rescissions: Jackson neighbor and podcaster John Wilson.
"That $4.5 billion I'm sorry, could be better spent by tearing down this Hayes. Planting some grass seed for a nice little park and constructing a no charge city parking lot," says Wilson.
Both State Senator Sue Shink and State Representative Kathy Schmaltz say they'll fight for some of that funding to be restored.
"I do not agree with what the House Appropriations Committee did," says Schmaltz. "I don't think the money should have been taken away....Some of this funding will be restored next year in a supplemental or in the budget that we work on."
"I will do whatever I can to make sure that the organizations in our community that expected funding get that funding," said Shink.
I reached out to City Hall for comment, but City Manager Jonathan Greene declined. Speaker of the Michigan House Matt Hall's office did not respond to my request for comment.
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