Founders Landing finally taking shape

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MARQUETTE - It's been seven years since the city of Marquette bought the property known as Founders Landing. In about four months, the city will finally see physical evidence of its investment.

Earthwork on the middle parcel of Founders Landing - which the city bought in 2002 - started recently. Joe Constance, a partner in The Landing Development Group - the developer which bought the middle parcel from the city for $1 million in 2008 - said the first building should be completed in October or November.

The parcel will contain a five-building, 36-unit row of townhomes. Constance said the foundation for the first building was poured last week and the foundation for the second building will be poured sometime this week. The first building will contain two units and the second building will have five.

"We're starting on the first building right now and we expect to start on the other one In August," Constance said. "So it'll be framed in and done sometime over the winter, probably late December."

In addition, construction bids recently came in lower than expected, Constance said, which may reduce the purchase price of the units.

Constance said he was pleased to reach this point in the development.

"It's been a sometimes long and frustrating process," he said. "We started this three years ago."

Constance and the other partners involved in the middle parcel are also involved in The Landing Development Group II, which is set to develop the northern parcel, just south of the Lower Harbor ore dock.

The developers have proposed a hotel as well as residential and commercial units on that property. They have agreed to pay $1.5 million for the property.

Plans regarding the southern parcel are still nebulous at this point. One of the more ambitious ideas was put forward by Barry Polzin - another partner in The Landing Development Group - at a recent joint meeting of the Marquette City Commission and Marquette Board of Light and Power. He suggested a huge, year-round greenhouse. It would be heated by the hot water discharge from the BLP-owned Shiras Steam Plant.

The idea of using the hot water discharge from the plant to heat the entire development as well as parts of the downtown was also discussed, though developers and city officials said it would be a very costly project.