NMU holds community forums on plans for hospital site

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - On Tuesday, multiple community forum sessions were held at NMU’s Northern Center.

The school’s Executive Director of Business Engagement & Economic Development, David Nyberg, provided an update on the NMU Foundation’s plan to redevelop the former Marquette Hospital, located right next to the campus.

“We initially got started on environmental due diligence, understanding if the project is financially viable,” said Nyberg. “And we were able to determine that we could move forward.”

In September 2021, the foundation entered into a contract to purchase the 23-acre property and repurpose it. While it is unclear what would replace the hospital, attendees participated in a survey on what is important to them for the site’s future.

“Our role is really focused on bringing together the resources and relationships, hopefully, to facilitate a really mutual beneficial outcome for nmu and the community,” Nyberg said.

The public was also able to ask questions after the presentation and survey.

“NMU (Foundation) coming in and getting this property for a dollar is just unimaginable to me,” said one gentleman.

“The NMU Foundation stands to have an equity interest in this project that would be equivalent to the value of the land as prepared for redevelopment, in addition to whatever cash we have leftover from our agreement with the hospital,” Nyberg responded.

In the end, Nyberg liked the diverse set of interests that would help to inform the redevelopment process moving forward.

“We talked about the need for housing across the spectrum and what this project might be able to do for that,” said Nyberg. “We also talked about the transitions between the Northern Michigan University campus and the neighborhoods in Marquette.”

The redevelopment of this property would require a significant amount of Brownfield money, which needs city commission approval. The NMU Foundation hopes to have a master developer for the project within the next couple of weeks.

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