BALTIMORE — The Holiday Inn Express and Sleep Inn on Front Street in downtown Baltimore will remain temporary places to stay. But rather than serving hotel guests, soon they'll serve people experiencing homelessness.
Mayor Brandon Scott's office announced it's reached a deal to buy the properties and turn them into shelters. The city has already been renting out hotel rooms to use as temporary housing since the pandemic led to overcrowding in traditional shelters.
This $15 million deal would allow the city to continue using these hotels as short-term shelters, but the long-term plan is to transition them to a nonprofit that can provide permanent housing, and comprehensive support services, like health care and mental health services, according to The Mayor's Office of Homeless Services (MOHS.)
Christina Flowers has some concerns. She's the founder of the Real Care Providers network in Charles Village.
"It probably is a political move on their part to secure favored relationships. I don't believe it's gonna be beneficial to those who are already wandering around Front Street and Fallsway with no accommodations."
She worries people seeking shelter here won't have access to the additional resources they need.
"You can't just pile them all together like that and then look for an outcome where you really, genuinely want to end homelessness. "You have a unique population that are not able to navigate this system. It could be due to their mental health, it could be due to substance abuse issues. But he has to have a better approach for the individuals."
The city also plans to put in an additional $3.2 million to keep the hotel management on staff for the first nine months of operation.
"3.2 million dollars is a lot of money to invest in individuals who may have no background in dealing with this vulnerable population of people," Flowers said.
A MOHS spokesperson says: "Existing resources within the City of Baltimore’s Department of General Services are already strained, so the management contract was created to ensure the operations of the properties remain uninterrupted through this transition of ownership. The money will be used for items such as 24 hour staff support, housekeeping, maintenance, operation support, services and repairs for key systems such as elevators, HVAC, plumbing and other critical systems that are central in our ability to continue providing emergency shelter to the community."
In response to Flowers' concerns, the office says, "The acquisition of these properties is a key investment for our community and will allow us to create affordable housing that includes critical services and supports. Although our long-term goal is to create permanent housing, we continue to understand increased shelter capacity is an urgent need right now, and as a result, MOHS is committed to providing additional shelter capacity before we transition these properties to a community based organization for permanent housing."
The city still has to go before the Board of Estimates to get approval on the deal. It's expected to close on the properties by no later than the spring.