FOX 21 News, KQDS-DT

DULUTH - A community member has said that more planning could have made the situation better for residents at the Seaway Hotel who were told the building would be condemned June 27.

Brandon Clokey is currently running for a seat in Minnesota House of Representatives, but he previously pitched a re-development idea for the Seaway Hotel.

"I had put together a tentative plan, nothing definitive," Clokey said.

Clokey, who can see the building from his office, said it was known that the Seaway was deteriorating and it would not be open for much longer.

With the work of an architect, he presented plans for a new building in its space.

He said the idea was intended to start conversations about the future for low-income residents who would eventually be displaced.

"Unfortunately, because it is the Seaway, most people don't take the time to look any further to realize that it's also about the people who live in it and not a building on the street corner," Clokey said.

Clokey said some people were interested in the idea, but that plans and discussions did not grow.

"That's unfortunate because now with the building being condemned, you're forced to come to the table," Clokey said. "You're forced to have the positive conversation, but now those positive conversations don't come as a result of being pro–active, they come as a result of 80 to 100 people now added to our homeless roles in Duluth."

Some residents have expressed concerns for the future homes of low-income people in Duluth, especially since places like the Kozy and the Carter Hotel have closed.