The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit supporting first responders and military veterans, will transform the former Holiday Inn Express & Suites at 25100 Northwestern Highway into housing for 85 veterans. (Candice Williams/The Detroit News)
Southfield (Tribune News Service) — In its effort to combat veteran homelessness, Tunnel to Towers Foundation broke ground Tuesday on its Detroit Veterans Village in Southfield.
The New York-based nonprofit, which supports first responders and military veterans, will transform the former Holiday Inn Express & Suites at 25100 Northwestern Highway into housing for 85 veterans. When it opens in late 2025, the space will also provide support services for those veterans, including job training, education assistance, benefits assistance, mental health support and addiction treatment.
“A couple of years ago, we made a powerful and important commitment to eradicate homelessness amongst our veterans across the United States,” said Jeanna DellaRagione, executive vice president of Tunnel to Towers Foundation. “Day by day, we are working tirelessly toward just that.”
The development is the nonprofit’s first in Michigan. The foundation also has new construction and adaptive reuse projects under construction and in the works for places across the United State including Bradenton, Florida; Mableton, Georgia; Island Park, New York, and North Charleston, South Carolina.
“We were very interested in coming to the Detroit Metro area,” said Gavin Naples, vice president of the Tunnel to Towers Homeless Veteran Program. “We like to be in places that have a community feel, that are not too far out in industrial areas, not too far out in the boondocks. Have good transportation, walkable scores, public transportation. The City of Southfield is incredibly receptive. This is the model of structure that we look for as well.”
The nonprofit was launched 23 years ago in memory of Stephen Seller, a firefighter with the New York City Fire Department who died while trying to save lives at the World Trade Center on 9/11.
A gut renovation is expected to start in the first quarter of 2025, with the property opening up for veterans later in the year, Naples said. The project involves renovating the interior of the hotel, with rezoning already approved. The result will be 85 permanent housing units with kitchens and bathrooms.
“There’s no communal living whatsoever,” he said. The first floor of Tunnel to Tower buildings typically include amenities like gyms, recreational areas and workforce development rooms.
Naples said the program is not government subsidized but is privately funded by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. They collaborate with the Veterans Administration to find the veterans who are in need of housing.
Jay Feldman, CEO of Feldman Automotive Group and a foundation board member, pointed to the relief veterans will feel when they have a roof over their heads.
“The amount of stress that it takes off them,” he said. “Imagine not having to pay for your house. It’s a big deal. So they can get a step forward. Get their life going. It’s good for them psychologically and mentally. How do you get a job and you don’t have clothes or you don’t have a place to live? So it’s almost like, what comes first, the chicken or egg? You’ve got to get that person going. Psychologically, help them physically — a haircut, proper clothing for a job. And so this is what we do.”
Southfield Mayor Ken Siver said the city welcomes the development and its support of veterans. He said the location is ideal for housing, mentioning the nearby amenities such as the library, parks and recreation programs, a branch of Central Michigan University, and various services including physical therapy and restaurants.
“I think the residents will be well served here,” he said.
Edward Williams, a 77-year-old Army veteran and retired police officer, said he was pleased with the plans for the Detroit Veterans Village in Southfield. Williams, a Farmington Hills resident, said he was particularly impressed by the rooms presented in the virtual reality simulator that shows how the spaces will look.
“I was really impressed by this,” he said. “This looks like it’s really going to be a nice place.”
Williams, who served in the Vietnam War, said he knew of soldiers who had trouble adjusting to life after leaving the service. He’s happy that veterans in need of housing will have access to the services they need.
“They have businesses all around them where they don’t have to worry about going somewhere and getting things,” he said. “It seems like everything you need is right here.”
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