For cities all across the country the story is the same providing housing for people facing homelessness. Well in Duluth a plan is underway to expand housing availability for those in need. The HRA Branch of Duluth along with CHUM were able to partner up to purchase the Duluth Inn Motel at 131 W. 2nd Street in downtown Duluth.

Once everything is finalized construction will begin to create 43 new housing units for people that had been homeless. Jill Keppers, the executive director of the Duluth HRA said to WDIO:

This is very needed. Our coordinated entry system has over 1,000 people on its priority list that are singles that are in need of housing because those are people experiencing homelessness. It's so expensive to build new housing so this opportunity to really bring 43 units online at significantly less cost than it would be to build new is a great opportunity and I'm glad our community is able to capitalize on.

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If all goes according to plan the sale should wrap up within the next 60 days then they will start taking applications and hopefully have people living in their new homes by mid-summer.  With a couple different organizations all working together not only monetarily but also for general manpower and planning this one time motel will be changing the lives of so many citizens.

I personally have never been in the motel but I know the goal of this project is to make each of these rooms to feel more like a studio apartment then a motel room. Plus with it's  location it may help residents to access jobs and health care services more easily. This is a great step in using a building that is already in place saving millions of dollars in having to build something new form the ground up.

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