AUDIO: Kalamazoo County commissioners to vote on hotel purchase for homeless

KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Kalamazoo County commissioners are expected to finalize a deal to buy the Country Inn and Suites and convert it into a transitional shelter for homeless families Tuesday.

The motel is located on Kilgore near Sprinkle and I-94.

The county board will be asked to authorize their chair to sign the purchase agreements for $5.6 million. That’s about $400,000 more than the asking price for a nearby Holiday Inn which had been the first choice for the initiative.

County commissioners will also be asked to add the additional funding from the county housing millage to the $5.2 million already contributed by the county, and the cities of Kalamazoo and Portage for the conversion project.

Board vice chair John Taylor says what he would like to see is a program for the 80 families at the shelter, that includes drug and mental health support, workforce training and other support.

He says it has worked in other communities, to help the occupants “graduate” to permanent housing.

Taylor says such a program would require help from local philanthropists and would take some time to put together.