Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
The City of Houghton has approved a loan from the Revolving Loan Fund for Julien Properties. Julien Properties requested $148,000 from the City’s Revolving Loan Fund for interior work inside its 482 Shelden Avenue location. The project would create new retail space on the main floor and basement of the building by splitting the space currently available.
“we’re adding two additional, essentially two more tenant spaces. So rhythm is split in half and becomes two spaces. And then citrus is split in about a third and becomes a space to the right when you enter and then a space to the left. It is less than the total budget at this point that we are requesting from the revolving loan fund because we have our sources being put into that as well.” – Jen Julien, Co-Owner, Julien Properties
Currently, Julien Properties has two other loans with the city that were opened in 2021 and 2023 for work on the Vault Hotel and Hampton Inn. City Manager Eric Waara says that the developer has $186,000 left to pay for those loans. For the 482 Shelden Avenue loan, Julien Properties will pay a 4.5% interest rate. The developer will also use its 706 Shelden Avenue location as collateral in the new loan.
“loans for the most part make payments every month. So the balance is going up. And it’s been quite a while since we had somebody asking for a loan. And then the last thing we talked about is the whole purpose of having the fund is to give loans.” – Mike Needham, Councilor, City of Houghton
Before lending $148,000 to Julien Properties to create new retail space at 482 Shelden Avenue, the city had $198,000 in the revolving loan fund. With regular payments from the fund’s previous loans, the city expects the account should grow back relatively quickly. Additionally, councilors noted that the city has not received many requests for loans with the revolving loan fund, however, Houghton is happy to work with businesses, developers, and entrepreneurs on projects.
