HILLSDALE, MI (WTVB) – Downtown Hillsdale is getting an economic shot in the arm, with a $2 million dollar grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund to restore the blighted Keefer Hotel into a 34-room boutique hotel.
The historical renovation project will include commercial space on the ground floor as well as hotel space with modern amenities and an upscale restaurant.
According to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the project is expected to generate a total capital investment of $12.3 million, create 50 full-time equivalent jobs, and will renovate a long-vacant, historic building into a new hotel that will generate new tourist stays and bring additional revenue to the area.
The Keefer House is a contributing building to the city of Hillsdale’s National Register of Historic Places commercial district, but has been vacant. City officials say it has created a detrimental influence on the downtown landscape.
Local support for the project includes an Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act (OPRA) tax abatement for 12 years valued at approximately $577,000. In addition, the city will partially forgive the loan for the building upon Certificate of Occupancy in the amount of $265,000.
