MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Northern Michigan University Foundation announced Tuesday that it has completed the sale of the former Marquette General Hospital site to the Veridea Group, marking a significant step in the revitalization of this key property.
The foundation sold the undeveloped property for the independently certified appraised value of $2.5 million to the Veridea Group of Marquette, who had previously been selected to redevelop the property by the NMU Foundation’s board of trustees. NMU Foundation Board President Mark Pynnonen said that any future plans for the site will come from the new owners.
“The city doesn’t want that,” he said. “Duke Life Point doesn’t want that. The University doesn’t want that. So Duke Life Point became more open to other options. They ended up giving it to the university for $1.”
After sitting dormant for so many years, the site on West College Avenue became a blight on the neighborhood. With NMU being its closest neighbor, the NMU Foundation has an obvious interest in improving the site.
“It’s your neighbor, and you don’t want an abandoned building next door to you,” said Pynnonen.
Veridea CEO Robert Mahaney released this statement, “This transaction marks a milestone event for our community and NMU, this redevelopment effort began more than five years ago and has faced many headwinds and obstacles, all of which have been overcome thanks to the shared vision, determination, and collaboration, of so many, including the NMU Foundation, the City of Marquette, Invest UP, and the Marquette Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. We are eager to put shovels in the ground and start building. We look forward to sharing our current vision and site plans with the public in the coming months.”
Pynnonen stressed the complexity of bringing together various funding sources, state and municipal cooperation, and navigating all the regulations necessary to complete a project of this size.
“Ultimately, it will be up to them and with city approval for what goes there and when,” said Pynnonen.
Although no timeline is set, estimates put the completion of demolition and site preparation to be in the spring of 2025.
The Veridea Group has not yet announced any specific plans but they have indicated that a $166 million mixed-use housing development is feasible and probable. Final demolition is set to wrap up next spring.
