TOLEDO, Ohio — The old Park Hotel on Knapp St. in south Toledo is about to get a face-lift.
The Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority recently bought the hotel and now plans to turn it into apartments for an under-served community.
On the corner of Wade and Knapp sits a boarded-up brick building. The old hotel had been neglected for years, but there is beauty in its potential.
It will be turned into housing for adults who age out of the foster care system, providing a stable foundation to build lives that they might not have otherwise.
“Sometimes they end up lost, they end up living on couches, in shelters, or their own cars. We are looking to provide them with wrap-around services, more than traditional housing,” said Joaquin Cintrón Vega, LMHA CEO.
LMHA is hoping by pairing this housing with the teaching of life skills, it will better lives and in turn better the city.
“We are going to provide them with the tools they need to be successful. Reaching a good career path, education services, tutoring, and more; that will give them tools to move on to their next step in life,” said Cintrón Vega.
The building will be transformed into 40 apartments. Construction begins by the end of 2020 and is set to be complete at the end of 2021 or early 2022.
“This opens so much room for additional opportunities. A project like this will help Toledo bloom in other aspects. That’s why this is so important,” said Cintrón Vega.
Rent will be income-based and tenants will range from age 18-24.
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