MENOMINEE, Mich. (WJMN) – New life is coming to a Menominee property which has been vacant for years. Officials say Asbestos and other Brownfield abatement has been complete on the former K-Mart property.
Since then, it has been unanimously approved by Menominee City Council and went through a public hearing at the county level. The County Board also approved the plan unanimously.
The developer, Veridea Group has completed the asbestos abatement and other environmental abatement of the property. Demolition of the old property is expected to begin in the near future with construction expected in Spring of 2023.
Menominee County Administrator, Jason Carivou said that with Marinette Marine bringing in hundreds of new jobs to the area, people will be looking for more activities as well.
“As the community as a whole continues to grow, driven by that manufacturing sector, we’re also seeing a lot more things for people to do now as well. Hopefully that attracts people to our area and fills our worker needs. It’s always been a great place to live anyway because of the natural environment, just like the rest of the U.P. We have people coming up here looking for the outdoor recreational activities and obviously we have them,” said Carivou.
Carivou said that Menominee is also a spill over for activities in the Green Bay area like football games and concerts. Adding more hotels, businesses, and other amenities will continue to strengthen the local economy, making Menominee more of a destination.
“Anyone that’s visited here, unless you know that you’re crossing over from Wisconsin to Michigan, the people that live here treat it as one community anyway. It is all compact into one little area. You get the benefit of a small community feel, but we are big enough to have a lot of those amenities that a real rural community isn’t fortunate to have a lot of the time.”
The plan was sent on to the state at the beginning of September. Approval of the state tax capture portion of the plan can take between 60-90 days.
