Christopher Germain, CEO, Lake Superior Community Partnership

MARQUETTE — The Lake Superior Community Partnership announced the launch of an initiative to add more housing options throughout Marquette County.

The initiative, Housing Now, is modeled on similar successful efforts in other communities to bring the public and private sectors together toward a common goal.

The initiative’s focus will be meeting the market demand for new and rehabilitated homes outlined in a target market analysis released earlier this year. It will utilize the existing LSCP Strategic Framework for Housing to guide its efforts in this early stage before updating that strategy later this fall.

The TMA found that Marquette County’s market can support up to 980 newly built units and 1,445 rehabilitated units annually for the next five years. Much of the demand is found in the 80%-120% area median income range, commonly called workforce housing needs.

While the initiative will support the development of housing of all types and income levels, workforce housing will be a major focus due to the extra tools and collaboration often required to develop units in that price range.

The full target market analysis and strategic framework can be found online at marquette.org/housing.

“Over the past several years, the LSCP has been home to a group of dedicated public sector staff and officials who have worked to coordinate efforts and address the housing shortage,” said LSCP CEO Christopher Germain. “Their work was pivotal in funding the target market analysis last year, among other tasks. The TMA has given us quantifiable goals for which to aim for. Housing Now will pick up the work happening under various partners and coordinate it under a single banner while bringing more private-sector partners into these efforts. The LSCP values its ability to bridge commonalities between the private and public sectors to advance shared interests. Housing is an issue impacting communities and businesses alike and will take all of us working together to address it.”

A 23-member leadership council of private, public, and nonprofit organizations will guide the initiative. Members of the council were selected for their ability to bring expertise and resources to the initiative to allow it to move swiftly toward the TMA goals. The complete list of members can be found at lscpfoundation.org/housingnow.

Marquette County Land Bank Authority director Anne Giroux said about the initiative’s establishment: “I’m excited to see what we can accomplish through Housing Now. Finding ways to increase the availability of attainably priced housing units has been a focus of the Marquette County Land Bank Authority for many years. We are eager to work with others in the public and private sectors to see how we can have a greater impact.”

“Cleveland-Cliffs has been a longtime partner in the work and priorities of our local communities, and we are honored to serve on the leadership council for this important initiative,” said CCI general manager Ryan Korpela. “As the third largest employer in Marquette County, we share the belief that ensuring a diverse housing stock is a vital aspect of maintaining a strong community. We understand the complexities of the housing industry will require private-public partnerships like Housing Now to move the needle, and we’re committed to supporting these efforts.”

Housing Now has hit the ground running and will host or support three housing events next month: a housing luncheon featuring Brooke Oosterman, executive director of Housing Next; an Emerging Developers Workshop coordinated by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation; and the next Emerging Developers meetup.

The initiative’s other active efforts include building a new website with expanded resources, exploring new financing tools and continuing educational events.

The initiative is also actively securing additional funds to maintain a Marquette County housing specialist position beyond current funding levels, which will be expanded by mid-2025.

Housing Now is hosted by the LSCP Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to advancing economic development and workforce efforts. In addition to hosting the initiative, the LSCP Foundation has set up a fund dedicated to supporting the initiative’s work.

Any individual or business may donate to the fund by visiting lscpfoundation.org or reaching out to the LSCP, which provides staff support to the foundation.