MARQUETTE, Mich. (WJMN) – The NMU Foundation and Duke LifePoint officially closed on the contract for the purchase of the old hospital property. The NMU Foundation is now the owner of the project site. This will officially allow the demolition process to begin.
“In a best case scenario interior demolition would commence over the winter months including hazardous material removals, besets abatement, things like that, with a goal of actual structural demolition starting in the springtime,” said David Nyberg, NMU Foundation.
The official purchase, which took almost a year to complete included input from public feasibility studies and choosing a master contractor. With the purchase complete, the project can now choose a demolition contractor and begin the demolition phase which has a projected cost of $20.5 million. This phase includes properly removing hazardous materials and conducting environmental remediation to prepare the 23 acre site for redevelopment.
“I’m proud to say today that our mission as it relates to the former hospital site has come to fruition throughout the last year,” said John List. “The alignment of partners and resources has been front of mind and now I can say that demolition is going ahead.”
The final use of the site has yet to be specifically determined, but the NMU Foundation promises a mixed use development featuring a wide range of housing including owner occupied townhomes, multifamily housing, apartment units, a senior living complex, some retail and commercial businesses, as well as green space and pedestrian corridors to better connect the development to surrounding neighborhoods and NMU’s campus.
