The 56-room Ambassador Inn in Fresno may be purchased by the city for $3.3 million. Image via Google Earth

The Fresno City Council is scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to purchase two motels to provide housing for the homeless.

The Ambassador Inn and The Villa Motel would provide 56 and 51 rooms, respectively. On Olive Avenue just west of Highway 99, The Ambassador Inn would come with a price tag of $3.3 million. Much like Project HomeKey, these properties would serve as transitional housing for the homeless.

Unlike Project HomeKey, the City of Fresno would be using its own funds to purchase the properties instead of state funds.

Shaileshkumar Patel and Kalpanaben Patel own the property, which sits on 1.08 acres.

According to a city staff report, the owners of both hotels would use the money from the city to invest in “like-kind” property that would be eligible for 1031 Exchange to provide savings on capital gains liability.

Less than half a mile from The Ambassador Inn is the Villa Motel, which sits on 0.84 acres at 817 N. Parkway Dr. The City of Fresno would spend $2.43 million for the 51-room motel as well as all of the fixtures inside. The owner of the Villa Motel is Hemantkumar Patel.

A year into Project HomeKey, do the numbers help bear out the cost?