Baltimore strikes deal to buy 2 hotels to house homeless residents; search took nearly 3 years – Baltimore Sun

Baltimore is close to finalizing the purchase of two hotels to be used as housing for the city’s homeless residents, ending a search that began nearly three years ago in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The $15.2 million deal, which is set to be considered by the Board of Estimates next week, would give the city control of two hotels, a Holiday Inn Express and a Sleep Inn, both of which are in the area of Gay and Front streets near the mouth of Interstate 83. The city is also purchasing a parking lot between the two hotels, which are catty-cornered from the city’s juvenile justice center.

For the first nine months of operation, Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration has proposed having the seller manage the hotels, paying it an additional $3.2 million via a management agreement.

Scott said the hotel acquisitions are a “critical expansion of our ability to address the needs of our most vulnerable residents” in a news release Wednesday.

Scott’s administration first released a Request for Information in April 2021 soliciting details on hotels for potential purchase with 100 to 200 rooms. The city began experimenting with the hotel housing model for the city’s homeless residents in the early days of the pandemic when it became clear that traditional congregate shelters risked spreading the virus. Hundreds of homeless residents were housed for several years during the pandemic, and lease agreements with several hotels were repeatedly extended. Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursements covered most of the costs.

In February 2022, Scott announced a $90.4 million allocation in federal American Rescue Plan Act money to go toward emergency housing and other housing assistance. About half of that money was set aside for the purchase of two hotels. The goal at the time was to replace 275 beds located at several congregate shelters that were to be closed.

It would take another two years, however, for the deal to be finalized. California-based LeSar Development Consultants was tapped in December 2022 to assist with the search for appropriate spaces. The agreement with the group has been repeatedly extended, including most recently in September, costing the city $221,000.

Since Scott made the pledge to buy the hotels in 2021, the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services has undergone changes in top leadership and faced scrutiny for $10 million in federal funds that were forfeited. In September, the Baltimore City Council took employees of the office to task for failing to use the money which was meant for the city’s Continuum of Care program, which pays for housing of homeless residents. In fiscal year 2020, Baltimore lost access to the federal system used to withdraw the money for at least three months because employees of MOHS either left the office or were barred from access.

Less than a month after the council hearing, Irene Agustin, the head of the office since June 2021, abruptly resigned. She was replaced by Ernestina Simmons, a local nonprofit leader.

Baltimore Sun reporter Lia Russell contributed to this story.