After years of speculation about the future of the former Hackley Administration Building, a local developer plans to convert the historic building into a luxury hotel.
Wheelfish Group, a Muskegon-based developer behind numerous historic building conversions, recently began renovating the building at 349 W. Webster Ave. to transform it into an upscale destination tentatively named Hackley Square.
Muskegon City Council earlier this month approved a commercial redevelopment district for the project that will freeze the property’s taxable value for 10 years after construction is completed.
The renovation of the Hackley building is expected to be completed by summer 2025. The estimated cost of the project is $11.5 million. Wheelfish is also seeking reimbursement for brownfield costs for the project.
The developer has not yet selected a general contractor for the project, but demolition will be handled by Pro-Tech and architecture will be by Hooker DeJong. Coalition Companies is the owner’s agent.
Frank Peterson, vice president of operations for the Wheelfish Group and former Muskegon city manager, said the ultimate goal behind converting the historic building into a hotel was to help the city preserve it.
“If we want to save it and make it sustainable and all those things, then we have to put something in there that will generate enough money to take care of it,” Peterson said.
The current plan calls for 40 to 45 hotel rooms, depending on the final layout. Peterson said the building has many “nooks and crannies” that could affect the size of each room.
Peterson added that developers are considering some small retail aspects such as a spa or a bar and lounge to provide guests with an “upscale place to stay.”
Built in 1892 with funds donated by philanthropist Charles Hackley, the historic building once served as a municipal school and later as the administrative building for Muskegon Public Schools.
After the school district moved out of the building in 2020, Wheelfish Group founder Brad Playford bought it a year later for $1 with plans to convert it into some sort of mixed-use building.
Playford said at the time of the purchase that he wanted to “do the right thing with the building to preserve it and preserve it for at least another 100 years.”
Playford and his wife, Kathleen, have restored other historic buildings in Muskegon, such as the former Nims Elementary School site, which now houses their telemedicine company, AvaSure.
The Muskegon City Commission last year considered the idea of moving most city facilities to the Hackley Building, which by then was already undergoing extensive renovations, including a new roof, for which $2 million in state funds were provided.
The city government wanted the building to remain a public facility. Mayor Ken Johnson said at the time that using the building for municipal purposes “would bring this historic building back into public hands.”
However, Peterson argued that the best way to keep the historic structure alive was to make it profitable.
The city government is also working on a plan to limit the number of short-term rentals in Muskegon, and Peterson said opening a luxury hotel could help ease the short-term rental shortage.
To honor the building’s heritage, demolition crews are preserving many historic aspects of the building for future reuse, including dozens of pieces of reclaimed wood, a still-working clock that’s over 100 years old, and other “things you don’t see anymore.”
“Our goal is to bring it to the main level where people can see it and see how it worked and just be amazed at how things that were built so long ago still work so well today,” he said.
Workers are removing about a foot of drywall and insulation that was installed in the 1970s so future guests can see the building’s original purpose. Visitors on the third floor can also see the building’s original roof trusses, which were constructed in the 1890s.
Wheelfish Group is a driving force behind development efforts aimed at preserving Muskegon’s historic buildings. The company has also partnered with Walker-based Dave Dusendang Custom Homes to transform the former Catholic Charities building at 1095 Third St. into a residential development with some possible mixed-use components.
The project, called Midtown Center, also received commercial redevelopment district approval from the city and is expected to cost between $11 million and $11.5 million.
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