A La Quinta Inn & Suites on North University Drive in Coral Springs could soon trade tourists for tenants, as the Tunnel to Towers Foundation plans to buy and renovate the hotel to provide affordable housing for Broward County veterans. The 122-room property, which also includes roughly 6,000 to 8,000 square feet of meeting space, sits at 3701 N. University Drive.
The proposal, reported by CBS News Miami, would add Coral Springs to a growing list of Florida cities where the foundation has repurposed struggling hotels into what it calls Veterans Villages. Launched in 2022, Tunnel to Towers' Homeless Veteran Program works to eradicate veteran homelessness nationwide by acquiring underutilized hotel properties and converting them into permanent and transitional housing communities, according to Military.com. As of March 2026, the program had assisted more than 17,500 veterans and 8,000 of their children with housing and wrap-around services across the country, per the foundation's own reporting.
More Than a Roof: Services Built Into the Model
What sets these conversions apart from typical affordable housing is the support system built into daily operations. The foundation's Veterans Village model pairs affordable housing units with on-site supportive services and case management. That structure is meant to address the underlying challenges that often keep veterans cycling in and out of homelessness, not just the lack of a lease.
Florida has several similar projects at different stages. Beyond Coral Springs, the former Ramada project in Jacksonville is seeking zoning approvals for about 145 apartments in its 146-room hotel, with construction targeted to start in summer 2026 and completion planned for the end of 2027, and a Veterans Village in Bradenton is in development. Hoodline previously reported on the Jacksonville project when the foundation first eyed the Baymeadows Ramada for conversion.
State Law Clears a Faster Path
Florida's Live Local Act, enacted in 2023 and expanded in later legislative sessions, creates a by-right pathway for qualifying affordable housing developments to proceed without municipal rezoning. That pathway removes one of the procedural hurdles developers typically face when pursuing qualifying projects.
The need locally is well documented. A 2019 estimate for the Fort Lauderdale/Broward region put the number of people experiencing homelessness at 2,340, including just under 220 veterans, according to WLRN. Nationally, veterans also experience homelessness.
A City Already Building Veteran Support
Coral Springs has been laying groundwork for veteran-focused programming even before this proposal surfaced. In late 2025, the city launched free municipal art therapy programming tailored specifically for military veterans, an effort Hoodline covered in its piece on the museum's veteran art therapy launch. A converted Veterans Village on University Drive would give those municipal efforts a residential anchor in the community.
The Coral Springs proposal also fits into a broader pattern for the foundation, which was established in memory of FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller. Siller died on September 11, 2001, after running through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel toward the World Trade Center.
Details on the Coral Springs project remain limited at this stage. The purchase price, renovation budget, final unit count, and timeline for municipal site-plan approval have not yet been disclosed.
