MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The plan to transform the old savings bank building in downtown Marquette into a hotel with an indoor parking garage, collectively known as ‘the vault,’ is being reduced in scope.
The developers recently told the Marquette City Commission that, due to environmental factors, they will be unable to construct the project’s planned parking structure that would have added more than 200 parking spaces to the area, and would have connected Lakeshore Boulevard with South Front Street. The renovation of the old Savings Bank Building is also being delayed due to complications with the structure.
Developers did, however, show plans for a new freestanding Hilton hotel and an 82-space outdoor parking lot to be built along Lakeshore Boulevard, between Main and Washington Streets. The planned underground parking structure proved to be unfeasible due to the composition of the land on the property.
“There are some complications with the subsurface level that they can’t build down, which is a common thing that we hear around here in Marquette, that it’s difficult to build underneath the ground because of certain complications. So yes, it’s going from a significant amount (of parking spaces) to a lesser (amount), but some other benefits come with that,” said Marquette City Manager Karen Kovacs.
Even with the scaled-back parking structure, Kovacs says this project is a considerable investment that will benefit all of downtown Marquette.
