What’s happening: A vacant motel on the shore of Lake Michigan will soon become site to a new five-story hotel in downtown Manistee, and a recently announced $2 million Michigan Community Revitalization Program performance-based loan participation approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund is helping to make it happen. The MSF also approved the City of Manistee Brownfield Redevelopment Authority’s request for $808,701 in state tax capture for the reimbursement of brownfield activities at the site.
What’s planned: The vacant single-story motel at 101 S. Lakeshore Dr. in downtown Manistee will soon become a five-story Hampton Inn, featuring 102 guest rooms, an onsite restaurant, and common space. Plans call for the hotel to feature a connection to Manistee’s Lake Michigan waterfront as well as several public infrastructure improvements, including new sidewalks and bike lanes, new and restored public parking areas, a new public marine launch, and more.
Why it’s important: “We are excited and grateful for the MEDC Michigan Community Revitalization Program’s investment in this transformational Manistee project,” Stacie Bytwork, CEO and president of the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce, says in a statement. “The beachfront hotel is acting as a catalyst for development, generating more interest and investment than ever before, and drawing attention to our community on the shores of Lake Michigan.”
More coming: The Manistee hotel development wasn’t the only transformational project recently announced to have received the MSF’s approval for funding.
Swartz Creek-headquartered LJ, Inc. won a $2.5 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant toward the purchase of 50 acres in Venice Township, where it will expand its manufacturing operations.
The Township of Meridian Brownfield Redevelopment Authority received MSF approval of $2,148,939 in state tax capture for the reimbursement of brownfield activities at a site in Haslett, where a mixed-use development, featuring 289 market-rate residential units, is planned.
And the City of Marquette Brownfield Redevelopment Authority received MSF approval of $3,835,399 in state tax capture for the reimbursement of brownfield activities at the old Marquette General Hospital site in Marquette. Demolition and lead, asbestos, and mold abatement is planned to clear the site for future development.
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