Ryan Engle, director of development and strategic engagement for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Michigan Veteran Homes, said, “We’re really excited to be here to really engage in dialogue and keep the community informed on the replacement of Michigan Veteran Homes D.J. Jacobetti, a generational investment in the Upper Peninsula.”

The proposal and plan, Engle said, is to build a single-story skilled nursing facility, approximately 157,000 square feet, to accommodate 108 beds — 18 beds in each “neighborhood.” The home would replace the current one at 425 Fisher St. in Marquette.

MVH CEO Anne Zerbe said the work on the project for the new home has been going on for “quite a long time.”

“We all know the existing home has done our veterans very well in the time that we’ve used it, and now it’s kind of time for us to think about moving into a new home,” Zerbe said.

Ryan Engle, director of development and strategic engagement for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Michigan Veteran Homes, speaks at the community forum. The new home would replace the current one at 425 Fisher St. in Marquette. (Journal photo by Christie Mastric)

That new facility, she said, will be more home-like and less institutional than the current building.

According to the state of Michigan website, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced in June that the Marquette Veterans Home is fully funded to serve 100 veterans after securing state and federal funding. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program has provided $63.4 million in fiscal year 2023 funding for the construction of a new state veteran home to replace the D.J. Jacobetti home.

The total investment for this project is $97.6 million — $63.4 million in federal money and $34.2 million in state money.

Zerbe said the site search included Marquette County, first focusing on state-owned land.

In June, MVH held a local community forum to begin conversations about the use of the former Cliffs-Dow site, Zerbe said. A formal environmental investigation on the site began, which involved the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, and Veterans Affairs environmental representatives.

Of concern to some people at Tuesday’s forum was the environmental status of the former Cliffs-Dow site.

EGLE representative Steve Harrington discussed the site, and what officials are studying at the location.

He said the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company established the site in 1902, making pig iron for 30 years. Then in the mid-1930s, the Dow Chemical Company formed a collaboration with CCI and started making wood-derived chemicals.

“Unfortunately, that process created a lot of waste tar, and it is the tar that is the issue that has required some remediation, and it’s caused some groundwater contamination,” Harrington said. “So, the city continues to work on those issues, and it’s pretty well defined where the problems are and what the scope of the problem that remains is.”

Accounting for environmental issues, he noted, is expensive. However, he said it has to be proven that there is no way for any remaining chemicals to affect people that would use the property.

Zerbe stressed that the site has not been finalized.

“We are in the process of doing some of that environmental investigation that would be required before the VA approves the site selection, before they even approve the design,” she said, pointing out that any construction at the site requires EGLE approval that the project is appropriate for the location.

Zerbe anticipates that a lot of the environmental work will wrap up this month, and MVH will make documents available for public transparency.

“This is where we’re going to serve veterans for a long time in the U.P., so making sure that veterans who may have been exposed to different things during their service, during their lifetime, understand what is entailed in this project, what we have planned and how we would do that due diligence to make sure whatever site we move forward with is appropriate,” Zerbe said.

The next steps, should MVH proceed with the Cliffs-Dow site, involve putting the project out for bid in the spring and breaking ground in 2024, she said.

If MVH looks at other sites and chooses another appropriate location, it would “pivot,” with breaking ground set for 2025, Zerbe said.

“There could be, and specially in this area, significant topography differences that make a big difference in terms of how you approach design,” Zerbe said of other possible sites.

A new website, https://www.michigan.gov/mvh/locations/the-new-michigan-veteran-homes-dj-jacobetti, has been launched to keep the public updated on the project.

“This website will be updated throughout the entire process,” Zerbe said.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.