Changes made to Braveworks brownfield proposal of old Savings Bank

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - Changes have been made to the Braveworks proposal which includes renovating the old Savings Bank building in Downtown Marquette.

The Marquette City Commission hosted the potential developers at a work session Wednesday night.

Braveworks is looking to bring the Vault Hotel to the corner of Front and Washington Streets and build on parking lots along Lakeshore Blvd.

The proposal includes renovating the interior of the historic Saving’s Bank building, adding 96 guest hotel rooms, permanent housing, and a parking garage.

“Part of that is to integrate a public parking facility. We’re going to have about 200 parking spaces there that will be open to the public, and we’ll also have a residential component that will be about 36 units,” said Braveworks Owner Jon Julien.

He said after much community feedback, changes have been made to the proposal.

“We’ve completely redesigned our parking and we’ve added elements of access,” said Julien. “Now there’s pedestrian access directly to Front Street from the parking, and we’ll also be able to provide ADA access all the way from Lakeshore Blvd up to Front Street.”

In addition to these changes, Julien said a dedicated alley would be created and 7 of the 36 residential units would be attainable housing.

“About 20 percent of the residential units will be considered attainable housing. So, through design and through different programs we think we found a way to be able to incorporate that into our plan and I think that’s a huge factor for a lot of people and their thoughts about this project.”

As for right now, Braveworks is still working toward a local brownfield approval to move forward with the proposal.

“We also are simultaneously working towards a state brownfield approval and if we get all those things pulled together then we start working with the planning commission and start working with the city engineers and going through that process. There’s a whole other series of steps after that,” said Julien.

Marquette City Mayor Jenna Smith said in a Facebook post that the commission has a big decision ahead.

A public hearing is set on the brownfield plan for July 12. Click here to view the updated Braveworks proposal plan in PDF.

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