Abandoned Michigan hotel to be transformed into affordable housing for veterans

SOUTHFIELD, MI - Some local military veterans will soon call a former Michigan hotel their home.

Members of the Tunnel of Towers Foundation, a non-profit which supports first responders, Gold Star families and military veterans, just broke ground on its Detroit Veteran Village in Southfield.

The foundation will renovate the former hotel at 25100 Northwestern Highway into 85 single-occupancy apartments for local veterans.

“We are incredibly proud of the city of Southfield to have the first Tunnel to Towers Veterans Village to break ground in the state of Michigan,” said the mayor of Southfield, Kenson Siver. “The opening of this facility is a positive step forward in addressing the serious problem of homelessness amongst our veterans, not just in the Detroit Metro area, but across the country.”

And this will be more than just a place for these local veterans to live. Tunnel of Towers Veteran Villages will also offer residents on-site support services including job training, benefits assistance, education assistance, medical care access, mental health support + PTSD counseling and addiction treatment.

“A couple of years ago we made a powerful and important commitment - to eradicate homelessness amongst veterans across the U.S.,” said Jeanna DellaRagione, executive VP of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. “We are here to ensure our Veterans here in Detroit and the surrounding area of Michigan are never forgotten.”

There are currently Tunnel to Towers Veteran Villages in Houston, Texas; Riverside, California; West Los Angeles, California; and Phoenix, Arizona with construction underway at facilities in Florida, Georgia, New York, Colorado, South Carolina and Pennsylvania.