On the side of busy Route 301 in Newburg, Maryland, about an hour south of Washington, DC, Sandy Washington opened the door to a newly renovated corner apartment. Inside, the walls are painted bright yellow and soothing blue. A children’s room is furnished with bunk beds and a homework corner.

“Welcome to Southern Crossing,” she said. “This is one of our first models.”

Washington is CEO of LifeStyles of Maryland, a nonprofit housing provider in Southern Maryland. Southern Crossing is the new name of a former classic 1950s motel. This two-bedroom apartment used to be three separate motel rooms. The door opens to a large kitchen equipped with donated furniture and supplies.

“Our idea is that when the families move in, they find these apartments already fully furnished,” she said. “From dishes to pots and pans, everything is there.”

When it opens this fall, Southern Crossing will provide transitional housing for up to two years for low-income people experiencing homelessness, domestic violence or other crises.

“And when they move out, hopefully they can take all of those things with them,” Washington said. “We want to make sure that everyone starts with the resources they need to stabilize their household.”

Built in 1953, the White House Motel was something special in its day. The three-story main building was reminiscent of its more famous namesake and was flanked by low brick buildings with white columns. Old postcards show a large neon sign out front and a grand lobby with a plush red carpet and chandelier.

In the 1950s and 60s, this area was known as Maryland’s “Little Vegas.”

“The whole strip of 301 is nothing but motels and gambling,” Washington said.

But in 1968, gambling was banned in the county. Then, Washington said, new interstate highways diverted travelers from what was once the main route from Baltimore to Virginia, “and so these places began to become obsolete.”

The motel has been empty since 2010. When her group took over, the beds were still made, according to Washington.

“We thought we’d just take the motel, paint it and shampoo the place and have people move right in,” she said. “Man, we were so wrong.”

They filled many dumpsters with rotting carpet and bedding and had to install a brand new septic tank and water tower. Seven years and about $4 million later, they hope to have the first units completed by the end of next month and start moving residents in shortly after. Residents will pay subsidized rents that range from $900 to $1,800 per month, depending on income and apartment size.

“When this project is completed, we will be able to accommodate a total of 77 people at one time,” Washington said.

It’s a small but significant relief from a huge national problem. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that the country lacks more than 7 million rental units for people on extremely low incomes. Meanwhile, travel habits and tastes have changed, and many hotels are either no longer in existence or simply outdated.

“The old saying, ‘We leave the lights on,’ is great, but the lights might be burned out,” said Doug Ressler of real estate data firm Yardi Matrix, referring to Motel 6’s old slogan.

Hotel conversions will create 4,556 new apartments in 2023, a record, according to RentCafe, which uses Yardi data. Most of those units are affordable housing, Ressler said. Hotels tend to be located near major thoroughfares, connecting residents to public transportation and jobs, he said.

“So they’re in a great location,” he said. “Because they have existing plumbing and existing structure, the conversion takes less time than building new.”

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, New Life Homes has converted two old motels along historic Route 66 into permanent affordable housing.

“This is not for the faint of heart,” says John Bloomfield, the nonprofit’s executive director. “It’s a long journey.”

A journey that requires asbestos and lead remediation, navigating zoning and historic preservation requirements, and resistance to “not in my backyard” policies.

“Neighbors typically don’t like affordable housing,” Bloomfield said. “Part of our job is to show that our projects add value to neighborhoods and improve property values.”

So what’s it like living in a converted motel? Cheryl Edenfield moved into Albuquerque’s historic Luna Lodge a little over a decade ago after years of homelessness.

“It looked nice and retro, but it was beautiful inside too,” she said. “They renovated everything – new units, new floors – because before it was a pretty run down hotel.”

Now she is at Sundowner, another New Life property, with a community garden and food donations from local grocery stores.

“People look out for each other very well,” she said. “Everyone knows everyone.”

At the former White House Motel in Maryland, Washington looks forward to the day when children play on the planned playgrounds and residents gather in the main building. After renovation, the space will include: Spaces for vocational training and life skills, a library and a chapel – a community where people used to just pass through and then walk by.

“Think about what you can do by turning something that is no longer useful into something that could really make a difference in someone’s life,” she said. “If we could turn all of this into something similar, imagine what we could achieve.”