Affordable Housing!, Covid Outbreaks, Hospital Mandate Halt, 12,000 Truffles, and a TV Treasure
The Latest From Marquette, MI by Brian Cabell
MAYBE IT’S TIME to put skepticism aside. That deal in which the NMU Foundation would buy the abandoned hospital property and then help develop it might be more than just a pipe dream… NMU Foundation CEO Brad Canale seems determined to get it done. “No action was not an option for us,” he says. NMU is vitally concerned—it wants a vibrant neighbor next to its campus, not a 23-acre ghost town.
What kind of neighbor? Mostly residential, says Canale. A lot of residences. That, of course, meets a community need… The schedule seems ambitious: 1) Completing due diligence on the viability of the project by the end of February 2) Lining up a partnership of developers within a few months after that 3) Starting demolition of the hospital buildings later in the year 4) Completing the entire project within 5-10 years.
He seems confident a willing developer(s) is out there.
Biggest obstacle: Obtaining a grant to complete demolition of the site. Price tag might be $20 million… UPHS has offered up $10 million to offset some costs. Canale estimates about $5 million of that could be used for demolition which means another $15 million would be needed… Again, Canale seems confident they’ll find a grant… Marquette waits with bated breath.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING PART 2: The Veridea Group is working hard on a housing plan for 20 acres of the Heartwood property in south Marquette it bought from the city a year ago… “We’re exploring plans to develop housing for the community,” says project manager Alysa Arwood cautiously. “We want to make sure when we come up with a plan, it’s solid.” …No timetable yet, but it’s promising… Any plan, she assures us, would show respect for the NTN trail that runs through it.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING PART 3: Renovare, a group out of Detroit, proposed buying eight acres of woodlands owned by the city off of northern McClellan, and building duplexes and row houses. Half of them would be “affordable” ($160,000ish), half would be “market price” …Seemed reasonable, even a slam-dunk. But no. “The main problem for us was the location,” says City Commissioner Cody Mayer …That wooded area has been almost like a park to the neighboring residents, and years ago, the Commission unofficially promised to never develop it.
So the current Commission turned thumbs-down to Renovare, but with some encouragement—“Let’s find another parcel in town where you can build” …That search is now underway.
BOUND TO HAPPEN in close quarters. A minor Covid outbreak at the jail last week, another at Room at the Inn… The RAI outbreak involved 13 guests who tested positive. They and two others with close contact were quarantined at a local hotel, but they’re all due to come out of quarantine this weekend… “We’re on the downside of it,” says relieved RAI executive director Nick Emmendorfer… The hotel and others stepped up to help in a mini-crisis.
And yes, there is weekly (sometimes more frequent) Covid testing at RAI, and masks are required.
LITTLE CHANGE IN the Covid crisis here… 17% of us are testing positive—that’s extremely high. And one day last week at the hospital, there were 24 Covid patients, 13 of them in Intensive Care, 6 on ventilators…. All 24 Covid patients were UNvaccinated.
THAT MANDATE FOR all hospital employees to get their first vaccination by December 6th and be fully vaccinated by January 4th is off for now… A legal challenge to the mandate. It’s proceeding through the courts….The hospital is disappointed but still determined: “We feel very strongly that the vaccine is our best defense against the virus and a much needed layer of protection,” writes hospital CEO Gar Atchison, “especially with the new Omicron variant…”
A SWEET OPENING for the relocated Towners Chocolaterie at the Westwood Mall last week… Hundreds have already found the chocolate and pastry shop in the back of the mall. Some items have sold out… Owners Katie and Jake Bonzer estimate she’ll be making 12-15,000 truffles and bonbons for the Marquette store alone this month…They also operate a popular shop in Gwinn.
WE SHOULD BE thankful for this—the Gratitude series by Elizabeth Peterson that recently aired on TV6… Poignant profiles of three local men, all facing serious challenges in life yet still finding reasons to be grateful for what they have… “It just seemed like something we needed at this particular time,” says Peterson. “I know I needed it.” She’s the friendly personality you invite into your homes every morning on the TV6 Morning News, but she’s also a highly skilled reporter.
Most viewers weren’t aware of it, but when the series was airing, the brother of her partner Kyle died unexpectedly… A shock, a trauma for the family… A genuine challenge for her and Kyle to find gratitude.
Peterson has also given us thought-provoking and visually arresting series on women backpacking on Isle Royale and in the Porkies… Not your everyday TV news fare…Good for TV6 for giving her the freedom to tackle these challenges… Lucky for TV6—and us—to have the talent and sensitivity of Elizabeth Peterson.
HARD TO FIND gratitude in downstate Oxford… A 15-year-old with a semi-automatic pistol (a present from his parents) opens fire on his classmates, killing four and wounding several others… Insanity. We’re a nation with 400 million guns in the hands of civilians… There’s got to be some common ground here—where the rights of hunters and those needing personal protection are absolutely 100% guaranteed, but where the reckless, suicidal proliferation of guns is finally halted… Gotta be a way. We’re killing ourselves.
(A reminder: Man About Town is a newsletter, not a blog. It arrives by email, free of charge. You can tap the Subscribe button below to sign up. Know someone who would like to subscribe? Let them know they can go to www.SubscribeToMAT.com and they can sign up there.)