KOCHVILLE TWP, MI – Kochville Township officials are moving forward with plans to demolish a shuttered hotel as they look to attract more private investment to the township’s central business district.

The Kochville Township Downtown Development Authority (DDA) voted unanimously to acquire the former Quality Inn on Tittabawassee Road before officially purchasing the hotel for a total of $1.55 million in an auction on June 11.

“That was a lot of money,” Township Manager Steve King said. “Admittedly, it was our biggest purchase or project, as far as I know, ever, by cash value.”

The property was put up for auction after it went into receivership. The Quality Inn continued to operate at the property until August, King said.

“The hotel had been challenged for a while,” he said. “We wanted to make sure we could make something great happen as quickly as possible at the site.”

In total, the purchase and transformation of the approximately three-acre property, located at 2222 Tittabawassee Road, is expected to account for an investment of about $1.9 million.

The project is being paid for with a 10-year bond the township sold, which will be repaid entirely with DDA funds.

“It’s definitely a big swing by our downtown development authority, but a calculated one,” King said.

The former Quality Inn is located in the area of Tittabawassee Road and I-675, which King said is a major commercial hub for the township.

“We need to make sure that continues to be a vibrant part of our business district,” he said.

The township plans to eventually put the property back on the market, so it can be purchased and redeveloped for future commercial use.

“There’s a little bit more risk involved, and it has potentially a longer-term return on capital,” King said.

The former Quality Inn was originally built as a Hampton Inn in 1994. The Hampton Inn continued to occupy it for about 15 years before the property was purchased by Country Inn & Suites, which operated there for about a decade.

King noted that township officials were concerned other hotel owners would hesitate to purchase the property because it would cost too much to bring the appearance of the 30-year-old building into conformance with newer hotels.

“That cost meant that we were fearful that the hotel would stay in a cycle of long term disinvestment, and we didn’t want that to be a problem in the community,” he said.

A fence has already been placed around the hotel property in preparation for the demolition, which will be completed for a total cost of $287,000.

The township is also working with Consumers Energy to disconnect the electricity and gas utilities at the property.

The building is expected to be torn down and cleared from the site before the end of the year, King said.

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