Public will have another chance to weigh in on Houghton parking deck

The City of Houghton faces two questions still regarding the aging downtown parking deck. The first is how to pay to demolish the structure now that the council has agreed to that course of action. Manager Eric Waara presented earlier this month to the group asking for bonding authority. He predicts that it will take upwards of 60 days to raze the deck and cost around $1 million. That includes the tear down, removal and aesthetic fixes that will be needed afterwards. Waara is still trying to figure out when is the best time of the year to do the job. Summer has too much traffic, but early March or late fall are possibilities, although not necessarily in 2022. 

Waara hopes to sell a portion of the parking deck property and perhaps a portfolio of other municipal owned land elsewhere in Houghton to help repay the bond. He says the city will have a say in how each parcel is built on and expects real estate to be the primary component of any non-downtown development.

Residents said they want a mixed use facility along Lakeshore Drive during the last set of public engagement sessions and Waara is attempting to leverage the bond the city will take out for demolishing the structure into further work along that site. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the first option for a grant, but other potential sources could be out there. If the renovations in the area become more extensive, Waara wants the public to have a hand in determining what the entire space looks like as well.

Waara will be a guest Sunday morning on Copper Country Today.