Bob Mahaney, CEO of the Veridea Group, talks to the Marquette City Commission on Monday about the proposed redevelopment of the former Marquette General Hospital property. Veridea Group has been named master developer of the project. (Journal photo by Christie Mastric)

MARQUETTE — The Marquette City Commission will hold a public hearing on May 31 to consider a brownfield redevelopment plan for the former Marquette General Hospital property.

The commission held a special meeting on Monday to set the date and listen to a presentation and public comments regarding the project, which would be on a 23-acre site adjacent to Northern Michigan University.

In September, the NMU Foundation entered into a contract for the purchase and eventual sale of real estate with UP Health System-Marquette, a Duke LifePoint Hospital, to redevelop the former MGH site along College Avenue to mutually benefit NMU, the city of Marquette and nearby residents.

Establishing a brownfield plan is an important step in the process.

Approval of the brownfield plan will provide the reimbursement of brownfield environmental- and nonenvironmental-eligible activity costs, including environmental due diligence and environmental-response activities; lead and asbestos abatement; demolition; site preparation; infrastructure, including the reconstruction of College Avenue; and other public improvements to capture future increased taxes generated by private investment.

The $44.6 million brownfield tax increment financing proposal would last about 16 years, said Sean Hobbins, Marquette assistant city manager, and bring in a projected $4.1 million in tax revenue when the project is completed. The city of Marquette would receive about $1.5 million.

David Nyberg, executive director of business engagement and economic development at NMU, indicated that should demolition of existing buildings occur, the “highest and best use” for a mixed-use development on the site that fits Marquette’s character has an estimated price tag of $166 million, a figure that might change over time.

“The site preparation and demo is really the critical barrier to moving forward,” Nyberg said.

Bob Mahaney, CEO of the Veridea Group LLC, which has a location in Marquette, talked about the project before the commission. Veridea recently was selected as the project’s master developer.

“There’s a lot more due diligence work and design work that needs to be done before we’ll have the final, or close to final, site plan,” Mahaney said.

However, he provided an outline of “conceptually and strategically where we want to go.”

That includes housing for incoming NMU faculty, a multistory rental building, a small retail/professional storefront, senior housing and possibly a performing arts center. The current parking deck also would be repaired.

“One of the overarching objectives in this was, first and foremost, to respect the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Mahaney, who noted that the project would have 300 housing units. “Those are well-established neighborhoods, and whatever we did here, we wanted it to complement the surrounding neighborhoods to the east, south and west.”

Providing attainable housing is part of the plan, he said.

“One of the ways we’re doing that is having a wide array of housing options and price points,” Mahaney said.

Also important, according to Mahaney, are connectivity to NMU and green space.

Mahaney said it is hoped that work on the periphery of the project will begin within three years. A timeline showed construction would extend into 2030.

NMUF on Friday unanimously selected Veridea Group to lead the development. NMUF announced that its request for qualifications was issued nationwide on March 11, and was open to developers until April 8. With 180 total RFQ downloads, it said Veridea Group produced the only qualified response.

One resource for the project, NMUF said in a news release, is the framework for a brownfield redevelopment plan, which would enable reimbursement of eligible expenses for demolition, infrastructure development and other activities through tax increment financing as well as additional investments in site demolition pending all state and local approvals.

Motives questioned

Mahaney, a member of the NMU Board of Trustees, in 2021 resigned as liaison to the NMUF board to avoid a conflict of interest.

However, Jesse Bell, a trustee of the NMUF board’s ad-hoc committee responsible for the hospital redevelopment project, said Veridea met the criteria for the project.

Marquette City Commissioner Jenn Hill said she had been hearing “literally dozens” of public comments regarding trust over “who decides and who benefits.”

“Many people have expressed concern to me that inside the process were people who knew they were going to benefit from the process,” Hill said.

Bell said the process to solicit RFQs was a public one.

“We have no idea who’s going to respond,” Bell said. “We had no idea whether Veridea Group would respond. They already said no to the project once.”

Veridea backed out of a purchase agreement for the property in 2019 after its research found what it termed “significant issues.”

Marquette resident Tony Boyle talked about his concerns during public-comment sessions.

Boyle said he had previously spoken up about the issue.

“This seemed like a shell game specifically to acquire this property for Veridea Group,” Boyle said. “And here we are. The song and dance happened and it played out exactly as we all expected.”

Boyle asked the commission to “pump the brakes” and not move the project, which he believes would not bring in affordable housing, too quickly.

Paul Schloegel of Marquette, a former city commissioner, said he has confidence in the project.

“I just think that’s it’s fabulous, and I haven’t seen any reason to think that there hasn’t been transparency throughout this entire process,” Schloegel said.

Commissioner Fred Stonehouse also favors the project.

“I want you to think what would happen if we weren’t doing this,” Stonehouse said. “We would have a rotting, falling-down building sitting in the heart of our city.”

Mayor Jenna Smith called the project “transformational.”

“All the arrows point to this being the chance, and I appreciate those who put both time and energy into making this work this far,” Smith said. “It has not been an easy process.”

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