‘Something’s Probably Going to Give’: Brooklyn Center Hotel Owners Look to Offload Properties
Amid a concerning economic forecast for the lodging industry, low occupancy rates and public reputations that have grown increasingly unsavory, several of Brooklyn Center’s 10 hotel owners have expressed interest in offloading their properties.
Those same properties are also garnering interest from developers.
That’s according to Brooklyn Center officials, who addressed the issue during a recent city council meeting.
Those plots could potentially be redeveloped or the existing buildings could be converted into new uses, according to city staff.
However, the property owners would need the go-ahead from the Brooklyn Center City Council for rezoning before any redevelopment could occur.
“The majority of our hotels — as [Brooklyn Center City Manager Reggie Edwards] alluded to — are no longer functioning in their originally intended capacity as a hospitality establishment,” said Brooklyn Center Planning Manager Ginny McIntosh. “They have likely, at least in part, transitioned to other uses. And we have seen this.”
These hotels are acting as de facto shelters for the homeless or as recuperative care facilities, McIntosh said.
“There’s the reality factor — at some point, something’s probably going to give,” she said. “If they have reduced occupancy, they’re not staying afloat. At some point they’re going to sell.”
McIntosh said the city is likely oversaturated with inexpensive hotels when compared with demand.
Zoning Issues
Existing zoning rules for the bulk of the city’s hotels restrict the property they sit on from being used for anything other than a hotel.
However, the city has fielded requests to convert hotel buildings to affordable apartment complexes, senior assisted living facilities, drug rehab treatment centers and truck stops.
The city council was initially skeptical of converting hotels to new uses, but ultimately said it would consider requests for conversion on a case-by-case basis.
According to a report from Hospitality Minnesota, the state’s lodging industry continues to face economic pressure.
“Recovery from the pandemic remains incomplete with industry data revealing a concerning trend of declining revenue, customer traffic, and financial health within the hospitality industry,” read the 2025 State of Hospitality report from the organization. “The lodging sector, while showing some improvement, still lags behind pre-pandemic occupancy rates.”
‘Gravely Concerned’ Developers
McIntosh noted that some of the city’s hotels generate nearly twice as many calls for service as the city’s apartment complexes.
Two of the hotels ranked in the top five addresses for police calls for service last year.
Police department statistics show that there were 2,781 calls to the city’s 1,081 hotel rooms between October 2024 and October 2025.
During the same time period, there were 1,356 police calls at the city’s 1,088 apartments.
Likewise, 24 percent of all drug overdose calls come from hotel properties.
The perception that the city’s hotels are unsafe has a detrimental impact on tourism and development, according to McIntosh.
Some developers have been “gravely concerned because of the hotels,” she said. “That has been a major reason why they’ve been hesitant to come.”
See also: Brooklyn Center Hotel To Appeal City Ruling Over License Revocation
