MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – NMU recently approved the construction of two new apartment buildings for students along Presque Isle Avenue.
“We look to start construction on 384 new beds located on Presque Isle,” said NMU Chief Marketing Officer Derek Hall. “This new construction is really gonna change the face of Presque Isle Avenue. This is a 55 million dollar project so it’s an investment, an investment in our future and in our students.”
The approval comes after an increased need for housing during the 2024 fall semester, “Our normal capacity on campus is about 2,650 students. This last year we had about 90 more then that. We did that by tripling up, and doubling up in some rooms,” said Hall. “The housing market in Marquette has changed a lot, with Air B&B, rental, those types of things. Places that our students were living traditionally might not be available to them now, so that whole thing plays together and really has put a pinch on our students.”
The apartments will be on either side of Presque Isle Avenue north of the roundabout in areas currently holding a parking lot, bank building, and two restaurants, “We have two buildings that will be torn down and that includes where Temaki and Tea and Smoothie King are now,” said Hall. “Temaki and Tea will live on, it will move back to its original location in Hedgcock.”
The university plans to begin construction fall of 2025 and finish before the fall semester of 2027.
