LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Friday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced two Northern Michigan redevelopment projects receiving support from the Revitalization and Placemaking (RAP) program, which provides access to gap financing for place-based infrastructure development and real estate rehabilitation and development.
The projects include the rehabilitation of vacant buildings in Houghton and Gaylord to create commercial space and 17 total housing units. Together, the projects are expected to generate a total capital investment of more than $7.35 million and create residential density and vibrancy in their downtown areas.
“Support for these projects in Gaylor and Houghton will turn vacant buildings into vibrant commercial space and housing, growing our economy and helping more families ‘make it’ here in northern Michigan,” Governor Whitmer said in a press release. “Across Michigan, the RAP program helps us grow our economy, support people, invest in places, and win projects. Let’s keep working together to recruit top tier talent, drive down the cost of housing, and make every region of our state more vibrant.”
“On behalf of the MEDC, we are pleased to work with communities across Michigan and invest in their resilience through the RAP program as part of our ‘Make It in Michigan’ economic strategy’s placemaking efforts,” said Michele Wildman, MEDC Chief Place Officer. “We look forward to seeing how these projects bring new residents and vibrancy to downtown Gaylord and Houghton.”
In Houghton, developer L and Z Rental Inc. will rehabilitate a vacant, blighted, four-story building into nine apartments, along with two commercial spaces. Supported by a $1.5 million RAP grant, this project will promote walkability, transform a blighted structure into a community asset, and create much-needed housing in the downtown area.
The 12,120-square-foot historic building was constructed in 1910 and has been vacant since 2013. A partial roof collapse in 2016 derailed a previous attempt to rehabilitate the property, leaving this prominent building at the end of Houghton’s main historic downtown corridor empty.
L and Z Rental Inc. is a partnership between Ruixuan Zhang and Wuze Li, a married couple who currently co-own a popular and successful sushi restaurant in downtown Houghton. The development team is working closely with the local economic development organization, Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance and an engineering firm, Traverse Engineering, to provide pre-development consulting and construction management of the project.
The rehabilitation of the historic building adjacent to the iconic Portage Lake Lift Bridge is a top priority for the city of Houghton and will provide a lasting impact on the downtown area.
“The City of Houghton is incredibly excited to see this project moving forward to the next stage,” said Houghton City Manager Eric Waara. “The project will bring one of our iconic downtown buildings, which has been through a lot in the last decade, back to life. The addition of the residential units will further increase our downtown’s vitality with more people living there and the new commercial space will see one of our restaurants able to expand into new space. It has been great to see how so many partners can come together on a project like this for the good of the community. That collective support for the developer’s investment by UP State Bank, KEDA, the Houghton County Brownfield Authority, Invest UP, MEDC, and the city is what made it happen.”
In Downtown Gaylord, Go North Properties, LLC plans to redevelop a vacant three-story, 22,584-square-foot office building into eight residential units and approximately 5,519 square feet of commercial space. The project is supported by a $935,875 RAP grant.
