SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — A former Holiday Inn in Southfield is being given new life and will soon give veterans who have fallen on hard times a place to call home.
The hotel off of Northwestern Highway closed in October. Tuesday morning the foundation behind the endeavor and city leaders broke ground on the project.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation said it plans to renovate the building to turn it into a Veterans Village and provide wraparound services to help them thrive.
Gavin Naples, Vice President of Tunnel to Towers, makes it clear it will not be transitional housing. He said veterans can stay for life if they choose.
“So, it’s a nice looking building as it is but we’re gonna be putting millions of dollars into this building to gut renovate it and provide a litany of supportive services and case management, entitlement support, VA support, legal advocacy, employment support, peer support for our veterans, as well as a permanent place to call home," he explained.
Naples said this is the foundation's fifth facility nationwide, with several others under construction. It’s the first in Michigan.
Southfield Mayor Ken Siver said, “It was pretty smooth sailing. We worked through the planning department, the building department, then city council and here we are today.”
Vietnam veteran Ed Williams, who took a tour said, “I was truly impressed."
He told 7 News Detroit it’s a concept he wishes existed in 1968 because, he recalls, some of his close comrades coming back from Vietnam with no place to go.
“I can’t wait 'til they finish it up. If I wasn’t lucky enough to have a place, I would put this on my list to give great consideration to it," Williams explained.
It was news to a number of nearby residents and businesses 7 News Detroit spoke to.
Southfield resident Barbara Boggs-Hughey said, "As a community, we need to do that. We need to stick together. We need to help one another (and) be our brother's keeper."
The former Holiday Inn is along the path Boggs-Hughey and her friend Dr. Lois Berrien-Jones routinely walk on Evergreen Road.
Berrien-Jones, who lives in Bloomfield said, “All of us should take care of each other. That’s what a community does.”
Across from the future Veterans Village is Starters Bar and Grill where long-time employee Sheila Torres said maybe local businesses can help by providing employment to the veterans who need it.
“I think it’s a good thing. I think they sacrificed a lot, to go and fight for us and for our rights and our freedom, and I think that once they get out that there should be somewhere they can go and have a home," Torres said. "I mean, you have to put yourself in that position. What if it were you and you had served your country? Would you want somewhere to go?"
The foundation said the home is expected to open next year.
