The Hillsdale City Council has approved an extension to the completion date for the renovation of the Keefer House.
During Monday’s regular meeting, council received an update on the project from Brant Cohen, of CL Real Estate Development.
He said the third floor of the historic downtown hotel is substantially complete. He said crews are making progress on the other floors, including the installation of flooring in the kitchen area.
The company has asked the city to extend the deadline for completion through June 2026.
The extension is necessary to ensure that an Obsolete Properties Rehabilitation Abatement, or OPRA, remains active.
Council had three options for action, which included extending the completion deadline, leaving the deadline as is, or requesting that the OPRA certificate be rescinded.
Councilman Will Morrisey motioned to approve the extension.
He said the Keefer house hasn’t served as a hotel since 1969. Morrisey added that the building was designed and built in mid-1880’s, when hotel standards were much different.
Council voted six-to-three to approve the extension.
The city has granted several extensions over the past couple of years, as the project has hit some snags since being undertaken in April 2019, with an initial completion date of December 31st 2021.
Councilman Robert Socha said the extension won’t have any monetary impact on the city.
He said council’s action does not extend the life of the actual tax abatement. It simply extends the time for crews to complete the renovation.
