While county health and housing leaders maintain hope a state grant program to curb homelessness amid the coronavirus pandemic will help the county buy the Sebastopol Inn, the state is withholding money for another hotel local officials want because of questions about how much it’s worth.
Sonoma County is set to pay at least $3 million more than the appraised value of Hotel Azura, a downtown Santa Rosa hotel where it plans to house some of the area’s homeless population, county documents show.
County officials say that number, which the county provided to the state Aug. 13 more than a month after signing an agreement to buy the hotel for $7.9 million, was simply a placeholder. An official appraisal, due this week, will set the course for ongoing negotiations with the state.
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