LEWISTON — The City Council will discuss for the first time Tuesday Lewiston Housing’s potential purchase the Ramada Hotel, after listening to the proposal.
In late June, Lewiston Housing confirmed it had signed a purchase and sale agreement with the owner of the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center on Pleasant Street, and would turn the hotel into transitional housing with the help of $3.7 million in a grant from MaineHousing.
When that plan became public, Lewiston administration said the potential deal was a surprise. However, since the proposed project would not fit the definition of a shelter, and multifamily housing is allowed in the zone, the City Council would not vote on the proposal.
City Administrator Heather Hunter said Friday that Lewiston Housing Director Chris Kilmurry “will be reviewing the project via presentation” Tuesday but she has not seen it.
The proposal would redevelop the hotel into 118 units of mostly efficiency apartments and include case management services. The MaineHousing funding, part of legislation aimed at tackling the homelessness crisis, is meant for both short-and long-term solutions, whether it’s emergency shelters or more stable transitional housing.
Lewiston Housing originally proposed to use the state funding for an emergency shelter on Park Street, but the approval process missed a state deadline and was voted down by the City Council.
Asked Friday, Kilmurry said there has already been “a lot of misconceptions about what we are trying to do, and who we will be serving.” He said that while the project would utilize the same MaineHousing funding as the previous proposal, the Ramada plan would be “a completely different solution.”
“So my hope is that our presentation will get the council on board with our plan, as it checks a lot of the boxes I have heard they would like the focus to be on when it comes to addressing housing issues in Lewiston,” he said.
According to a copy of the purchase and sale agreement between Lewiston Housing and the hotel owner, Emerald Hospitality, the total purchase price would be $7.5 million.
In an email to MaineHousing officials, Kilmurry outlined the proposed budget for using the grant, stating $2 million would be used toward the purchase price of the hotel; $650,000 would pay for two years of services, including four case managers; $800,000 would go toward building costs like required electrical supply upgrades, emergency signs and kitchen wiring, with $250,000 remaining for “miscellaneous.”
The purchase and sale agreement says the closing date on the sale would be on or before Oct. 31.
Asked about the upcoming workshop Friday, Mayor Carl Sheline said that “while the city doesn’t get to vote over this sale, I’m looking forward to learning more about the project during the workshop.”
“I’m aware that there has been a lot of chatter and behind the scenes hand-wringing over this deal, which is a little surprising to me,” he said. “This is a classic example of the free market at work with a willing seller and a willing buyer. We also just passed new zoning in that area to allow for increased density and housing.”
When the plan was first announced, a MaineHousing spokesman said it could provide “a piece of the ladder of solving homelessness” and would “add a resource in this hub that doesn’t currently exist.”
The hotel features a 15,000-square-foot banquet and meeting space, and a 117-seat theater room. It also features the Fusion Restaurant and Lounge.
The council workshop will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chamber at City Hall.
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