Veridea Group has backed out of a purchase agreement of the former UP Health System-Marquette campus along College Avenue in Marquette. UPHS-Marquette moved from this site to its new location along Baraga Avenue in June. (Journal file photo)

MARQUETTE — Veridea Group has terminated its purchase agreement of the former UP Health System-Marquette Campus.

Veridea Group President Robert Mahaney on Thursday issued a statement regarding the termination.

“In November of last year Veridea Group entered into a purchase and sale agreement with a subsidiary of LifePoint Health whereby Veridea Group would acquire the 21-acre former Marquette General Hospital campus subject to satisfactory due diligence results and a number of other conditions,” Mahaney said.

Since that time, he said, both parties have worked diligently to complete the steps needed to transfer ownership of the property, but significant issues were discovered during “due diligence” that impacted Veridea’s ability to execute its redevelopment plan.

“Despite the best efforts of both parties over many months to resolve these matters, at this point in time we remain without a mutually acceptable solution.

“As a result, Veridea Group has notified LifePoint of its decision to terminate the purchase and sale agreement. We do this with great regret as we believe the redevelopment of the now vacant campus is critical to the city of Marquette, its residents and especially the surrounding neighborhood.”

He said Veridea will continue to engage with LifePoint and support its efforts to bring about successful redevelopment of this property.

“While we are disappointed in being unable to move forward with the MGH campus, we remain fully committed to Marquette and the Upper Peninsula,” Mahaney said. “In fact, we have a number of exciting new development projects in our pipeline for Marquette and across the peninsula that will deliver new investment, jobs and community amenities upon completion. These include the new mixed-use building planned for downtown Marquette, the second building in our Harbor Vista Residences and potential development of the former Cliffs-Dow property.”

Victor E. Giovanetti, executive vice president of hospital operations for LifePoint Health, said in a statement: “First and foremost, we remain committed to the Marquette community. We are focused on identifying the right long-term plan for the former UPHS-Marquette facility and surrounding property.

“It may take some time to reach the right solution, but we will continue to be very thoughtful in our approach to this significant project and its impact on the community.

“We appreciate the community’s patience throughout this process and are committed to providing updates along the way.”

Marquette City Manager Mike Angeli said it’s too early to tell how the Veridea situation will affect the city, but it supports efforts to reuse the property.

“I think it’s a benefit to the city if it can be reutilized or reused, but we also understand that it’s a complex situation,” Angeli said. “It has to be beneficial to the developer as well.”

UPHS-Marquette made the move from the former campus along College Avenue to the new location along Baraga Avenue in June. The new campus has a 525,000-square-foot hospital and a 90,000-square-foot office building.

Duke LifePoint, now LifePoint Health, had purchased Marquette General Hospital in 2012.

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.