A 142-room hotel in Columbia that provides temporary housing for individuals and families in need is set to undergo an $850,000 renovation.
Welcome Inn, a transformative project that will convert an old hotel into an affordable housing complex, recently received $850,000 from the Boone County Commission. County officials met at the hotel on Friday to learn more about plans for the project.
The money was part of a $6.6 million package of federal American Rescue Plan Act pandemic relief funds that the commission allocated for community improvement projects.
“It’s hard to put into words, but I’m very grateful and honored to receive this funding,” said Kel Beal, owner of the Welcome Inn. “This will give momentum to initiatives we’ve been wanting to accomplish over the next 20 years, but now we can start right away.”
The funding approved in April was the second and final wave of ARPA relief funds provided by the County Commission. The focus of this second wave was on affordable housing throughout Boone County.
Welcome Inn received the largest amount of money from this second wave. Other organizations that received funds included Habitat for Humanity, Central Missouri Community Action and the Columbia Housing Authority.
“It just made sense for an existing facility to provide a place for so many people and children to live,” said Boone County Executive Kip Kendrick. “But we’re also thinking about what can be done to help them improve and expand their mission here.”
“Whether someone is here for several years or just a week, if you can provide the security needed to make sure people are in a safe place, that is of tremendous importance,” Kendrick said.
The building, located north of the Interstate 70/Providence Road intersection, has been in disrepair since the 1990s. It was once a Holiday Inn and went through several management changes before Beal purchased the property in 2022.
“I had a vision of some kind of missionary or redemptive real estate, something that would breathe life back into places and help those who need help,” Beal said. “It was a long process, but we were lucky and were able to turn it into something positive.”
To date, the project has received most of its funding from outside organizations such as Love Columbia and the Society of St. Vincent De Paul. However, with additional support from the Boone County Commission, the inn will be able to complete a number of renovations while maintaining safety and cleanliness.
“Our goal is to use the funds to create new service opportunities for our residents in the future, improve the quality and number of our available rooms and expand our partnerships within the community,” Beal said.
The building has 142 private rooms, as well as a gym that will be converted into additional dormitory space. A significant portion of the commission’s funding will go toward renovating these rooms and making them available for individuals and families.
In addition, Beal plans to remodel the hotel’s numerous conference rooms. These renovations will ideally provide a space for outside service providers to interact directly with the inn’s guests and staff.
The building’s large kitchen and attached restaurant area will also be remodeled. Welcome Inn plans to partner with hospitality businesses to offer vocational training and hands-on experience in various fields.
“This is a community of people who need attention and care,” Beal said. “We wanted to do that in a scalable way; in a way that can pay the bills, in a way that can reclaim property and in a way that can create generational change for families.”
