- Hillsdale College plans to build a new 4-star, 158-room hotel, conference center, and restaurant on campus.
- The College is offering the City of Hillsdale $2M to accommodate the new complex.
- City Council approved the proposed development agreement on August 19, and will finalize the plan at Sept 3 meeting.
- The College draws tens of thousands of visitors each year, according to its data.
- Mayor Adam Stockford says the new hotel complex will keep more visitors and their money in Hillsdale.
- Video shows rendering of proposed hotel, development agreement outline, location of proposed hotel complex, Hillsdale College, and Hillsdale Mayor Adam Stockford.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Hillsdale College is a big draw to the neighborhood. And now there are big plans for the future.
I'm your neighborhood reporter Darius Udrys, talking with city leaders about a possible partnership for a new hotel and restaurant to keep visitors and their money here in Hillsdale.
"It's going to be a major economic driver."
— Adam Stockford, Mayor of Hillsdale
Mayor Adam Stockford touting the new hotel, restaurant, and conference facility Hillsdale College wants to build on campus, north of the current Dow Center hotel.
According to the College's development proposal to the City, the complex would add $2.6 million in annual spending to the local economy
It's a big vision -- with a lot of factors involved.
"It was a negotiation," says the Mayor. "The College didn't have to do it."
To make it happen, the proposal asks the City to vacate sections of two streets — Summit and Galloway.
It says that in exchange, the College is offering the City payments totaling $2M — $1.7M of which would be used to create an endowment to fund City services.
City Council approved the agreement on August 19 — a move Stockford hopes signals a new City and College partnership.
"A lot of the residents of Hillsdale feel that Hillsdale College doesn't monetarily contribute to the services that they use," notes Stockford. "So this is a way to remedy that in a way that should transcend through generations."
I reached out to the College for a response, and received a statement that read, in part:
But some residents raised concerns on social media about the College's influence over City Council and its exemption from taxes.
The Mayor's response:
"Let's make this clear: Hillsdale College does not need the City of Hillsdale's permission to build a hotel on their own property….The City of Hillsdale doesn't give Hillsdale College its tax exemption."
City Council will finalize the plan at its meeting on Tuesday, September 3.
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