By ALEXANRIA BOURNONVILLE Journal Staff Writer MARQUETTE — Michigan Veteran Homes has entered into an agreement with a private seller to acquire more than 38 acres of land in Marquette Township making them one step closer to a new location for the aging D.J. Jacobetti veterans’ home. Currently owned by Jim and Tonya Scott-Ross, the new site is located south of Marquette Cinemas, east of Wright Street and includes donated acres in honor of Tonya Scott-Ross’s late father, U.S. Army Veteran Edward Scott. “We have always hoped to carry on Edward’s legacy and are honored to be a part of this project,” the pair said. “Edward loved the Marquette area and we know this is the perfect way to honor his memory. It provides our family immense pleasure to donate land in his remembrance and we are delighted that MVH will honor Ed’s legacy by naming the MVH D.J. Jacobetti Community Center after him. This new facility will be a wonderful addition to Marquette Township and the veterans that have served our country.” MVH Director of Development and Strategic Engagement Ryan Engle said he and MVH are also excited about the new location. “We believe it’s just a great opportunity to stay in the same area ... for our veterans and their access to services and quality of life opportunities: activities at Northern, hockey games, all the restaurants, the stuff they do in the community,” he said. “But it also continues to promote our robust volunteer support networks that we have that serve our home. And it’s minimally disruptive to the staff and families that commute to work there or families that visit.” MVH’s next steps in the process are to acquire approval from the Michigan State Administrative Board and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as well as funding approval from the VA State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program. Engle said the project is contingent upon receiving the grant but that he is “cautiously optimistic” funds will be approved. Should the grant be approved, construction would potentially start in the spring of 2025 on a new veterans home. After a 3-year process building process, the facility would be set to open in 2028. As of 2022, the estimated project cost for the new home is $97.6 million though prices of labor and materials have likely gone up in the past two years. “If we did not receive it, there’s potential for it to be delayed again another year,” said Engle. The process of finding a new location for the vets’ home stems from a recommendation developed by a 2016 work group — comprising of health care experts, veterans stakeholders and legislators — that convened to assess the provision of long-term care services to Michigan veterans. This news comes shortly after MVH announced Monday, April 29 that it has ended negotiations on the former Cliffs-Dow property as a potential location due to liability issues concerning chemical contamination on the property could not be resolved. Engle said there are currently no concerns “from the environmental standpoint” with the new property. Alexandria Bournonville can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 506. Her email address is abournonville@miningjournal.net.

MARQUETTE — Michigan Veteran Homes has entered into an agreement with a private seller to acquire more than 38 acres of land in Marquette Township making them one step closer to a new location for the aging D.J. Jacobetti veterans’ home.

Currently owned by Jim and Tonya Scott-Ross, the new site is located south of Marquette Cinemas, east of Wright Street and includes donated acres in honor of Tonya Scott-Ross’s late father, U.S. Army Veteran Edward Scott.

“We have always hoped to carry on Edward’s legacy and are honored to be a part of this project,” the pair said. “Edward loved the Marquette area and we know this is the perfect way to honor his memory. It provides our family immense pleasure to donate land in his remembrance and we are delighted that MVH will honor Ed’s legacy by naming the MVH D.J. Jacobetti Community Center after him. This new facility will be a wonderful addition to Marquette Township and the veterans that have served our country.”

MVH Director of Development and Strategic Engagement Ryan Engle said he and MVH are also excited about the new location.

“We believe it’s just a great opportunity to stay in the same area … for our veterans and their access to services and quality of life opportunities: activities at Northern, hockey games, all the restaurants, the stuff they do in the community,” he said. “But it also continues to promote our robust volunteer support networks that we have that serve our home. And it’s minimally disruptive to the staff and families that commute to work there or families that visit.”

MVH’s next steps in the process are to acquire approval from the Michigan State Administrative Board and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as well as funding approval from the VA State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program.

Engle said the project is contingent upon receiving the grant but that he is “cautiously optimistic” funds will be approved.

Should the grant be approved, construction would potentially start in the spring of 2025 on a new veterans home. After a 3-year process building process, the facility would be set to open in 2028.

As of 2022, the estimated project cost for the new home is $97.6 million though prices of labor and materials have likely gone up in the past two years.

“If we did not receive it, there’s potential for it to be delayed again another year,” said Engle.

The process of finding a new location for the vets’ home stems from a recommendation developed by a 2016 work group — comprising of health care experts, veterans stakeholders and legislators — that convened to assess the provision of long-term care services to Michigan veterans.

This news comes shortly after MVH announced Monday, April 29 that it has ended negotiations on the former Cliffs-Dow property as a potential location due to liability issues concerning chemical contamination on the property could not be resolved.

Engle said there are currently no concerns “from the environmental standpoint” with the new property.

Alexandria Bournonville can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 506. Her email address is abournonville@miningjournal.net.