The site of the former Sara Lee Bakery (or, if you've been around awhile, the Bunny Bread factory) in downtown Marquette has been home to a lot of action lately. First the old factory was torn down, and then the site was cleared for a new development.
This week, the developer,
Veridea Group, announced at an official groundbreaking that the new development will be called Liberty Way, in a tribute to its location at the intersection of Washington and Lincoln streets, and its proximity to Marquette's Veterans Memorial Mall at Harlow Park. In keeping with the name, plaques and engravings of quotes honoring Washington, Lincoln and others will mark the public areas of Liberty Way.
It's a three-phase development, with the first phase, a 28,406-square-foot office building, due to be completed late this summer. It will welcome
mBank as its anchor tenant and also be the new home of Veridea Group offices and
Myefski Architects' new Marquette office. Myefski, the Illinois-based architect of the development, is a new addition to town.
Veridea also announced the second phase will welcome the 90-room
Staybridge Suites hotel to downtown, as well as retail space, a restaurant, and a 170-space parking garage with electric car charging. Liberty Way will connect to the city bike path behind it with a bicycle repair and maintenance station. That phase will begin in late 2013 with completion scheduled in 2014.
All told, it will include more than 130,000 square feet of mixed use space, including commercial, retail, at a cost of $30 million, and add more than 100 jobs to the community. Backers include the Marquette Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, the
Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the First National Bank of Waupaca.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Veridea Group
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