MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Early on Wednesday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer was in Marquette, providing updates with other leaders on the Marquette General Hospital Project.
The Marquette General Hospital Project is an $8,000,000 demolition, being led by the NMU foundation, and structural demolition is scheduled to start in early September. The State of Michigan has invested almost $5,000,000 toward this project, and as Governor Whitmer mentioned, the unused hospital site deserves a purpose within the city.
“Important space that we’ve gotta get back into good use and so demolishing this old hospital and building up this community is really important as we look to grow our state and tell a powerful story of what we are and who we are,” commented Governor Whitmer. Demolition on the inside has begun as construction groups are still clearing waste, asbestos, and any other hazardous materials from the buildings.
“We anticipate that above-grade structural demolition to begin within the next couple weeks it was actually supposed to start this week but there was some more asbestos discovered so we’re looking at about the beginning of September is what we’re telling folks when they can start to see these machines working,” noted NMU Exec. of Business Development David Nyberg.
Right now the demolition is still in Phase 1 of 2, and the NMU foundation plans to demo all of the buildings attached to the hospital site south of college ave, with the expectation that by the end of 2023, most of the buildings in Phase 1 will be demolished. “Phase two will be the Neldberg building and blood bank building which will be next year,” continued Nyberg.
The NMU Foundation hopes the demolition will further connect the university’s campus with downtown Marquette. Officials noted that having leaders like Governor Whitmer in the UP, there can be more progressive conversations about how to move forward with a project of this scale.
“Governor Whitmer’s words that she shared with us today really focused on collaboration and what this means to make it in Michigan,” continued Nyberg.
“We know are we wanna grow our population as we grow our economy in Michigan we’ve gotta get the fundamentals right, investing in our people and ensuring that every person can have a path to prosperity here and that means investing in place,” explained Governor Whitmer.
What the new redevelopment will look like is still in question, but the community is sure to catch hints in the coming months of the future of Marquettes’ downtown.
