According to Northern Marianas Housing Corp. planning and administrative assistant Jacob Muna, the contract of Jean Sablan of Valley Inn Inc. was extended.
In August, the NMHC board approved the management agreement for Valley Inn Inc. to operate and maintain Valley Inn for 90 days, from Aug. 1 to Nov. 1 or until such time that the central government could take over and run the facility as a medical referral guest house.
With its acquisition by Northern Marianas Housing Corp. for $380,000, the Valley Inn has been converted into a medical referral guesthouse for patients coming from Rota and Tinian.
Valley Inn has been available to receive these referral patients since August.
Muna told Variety that they received two patients from Rota last weekend and one patient Wednesday.
He also said they are looking into making the building compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“We are still doing that right now,” he said.
Muna said they are intent on doing the east and west wing of the building.
According to NMHC’s initial assessment, the agency could only rehabilitate 20 percent of the facility to make it ADA-compliant.
Under ADA, no individual may be discriminated against on the basis of disability with regard to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation.
As the NMHC was racing against time to spend $1.9 million and meet its U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD ratio by August 2, it was fortunate to have found two feasible projects: construction of new junior high school and acquisition of Valley Inn.
The agency was in danger of losing money if it failed to use its Community Development Block Grant funds.
Of the $1.9 million it had to spend by Aug. 2, NMHC bought Valley Inn for $380,000 and acquired the site in Koblerville for the new school for $1.17 million.
Valley Inn sits on three lots — 7,153 sq. m., 750 sq. m. and 325 sq. m.— in As Lito, Saipan and was last appraised at $677,628.
