CALL IT A wellness destination. Call it a center for all types of therapy–yoga, massage, dance, meditation, and much, much more.
That’s what will be moving into the spot recently vacated by MacDonalds Music Store on Third Street.
The new owners are Kate Lewandowski and Christopher Ray. They’ve been part-time Marquette residents for 14 years. Now they’re planning to stay.
They’ve got credentials, they conduct large classes and seminars, they’ve got followers across the country.
Ray and Lewandowski actually purchased the building so this is not going to be some half-assed attempt at running a business. They’re serious, they’re committed. And they want other therapists to collaborate with them.
Lotta work still to be done. They hope to be open by next summer, maybe sooner.
No name for the business yet.
FINALLY SOME WORK taking place at those abandoned buildings off of Lakeshore Boulevard, across from Picnic Rocks. A perimeter fence is going up.
A group of investors out of Chicago is hoping to transform those buildings into the Picnic Rocks Shopping Center. Upscale shops, maybe 20 of them. The manager of the group says they’ve gotten preliminary interest from Starbucks, a chain restaurant and a brewery so far. They’re hoping for local stores to locate there too.
However.
The only work so far is that chain link fence around the property, and it turns out, that’s because city planners required them to do it for safety reasons. Keep curiosity-seekers out.
Further, the city is requiring them to fix the roof before winter–again for safety reasons.
The development manager says they will do that as well this fall. At this point, they have “concept” plans for the shopping center, but no blueprints. No site plan. Those are being worked on.
They’ve also met with the Brownfield Authority in hopes of getting some funds. Those are possible.
But the bottom line? They’re making the abandoned site safer…but they have a long way to go–approvals from the City Commission and the Planning Commission–before they can start building.
YOU LIKE ROUNDABOUTS? Looks like we’re about to get two more.
Marquette City Manager Mike Angeli and his staff are recommending that they be built at Wright Street and Sugar Loaf, and Wright Street and Lincoln.
The reason? They’re safer than conventional intersections, and the new construction would alleviate some of the wear-and-tear that those intersections have been receiving over the last few years.
The constant flow of Lundin trucks along Wright Street has been part of the problem, and that’s not about to let up.
And the good news is that it’s Lundin money, designated for road maintenance, that would pay for the roundabouts. Angeli estimates total cost to be $2-3 million.
The City Commission is looking at the proposal right now and will likely vote on it next month.
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YEP, THE “DARK STORE” problem is still with us, although help may be on the horizon.
Quick background: Big box stores have been getting huge, clearly unjustifiable property tax breaks in recent years which have cut deeply into tax revenues and municipal services.
So you still don’t quite understand it and its implications? Well, NMU professor Dwight Brady and his students have put together a documentary on the issue. They’re calling it “Boxed In.”
It’s worth seeing. The premiere for it is next Wednesday, August 24th at Peter White Public Library. 7 pm.
As for the help on the horizon, legislation to end the “dark store” taxing process finally passed the House in Lansing earlier this year. It goes to the Senate next month where it’ll face continued, staunch opposition from the state Chamber of Commerce.
If it fails to pass before the end of the year, the bill is dead. Back to square one.
Keep our fingers crossed.
HOW DO YOU improve a downtown? One block at a time, one store at a time, one little piece of land at a time.
Latest example? Take a look at 4th Street and West Washington.
Used to be an ugly, rundown raised bed of dirt and weeds there. An eyesore, a large one at that.
Now it’s a beautiful, thriving, colorful butterfly garden. Master Gardener Al Raymond took on the project with the help of Michigan State Extension Service and volunteers who showed up on Saturdays to transform the corner. Businesses helped out, as well.
Raymond did it to honor his wife Ellie who passed away last year. A great story, a beautiful memorial.
THAT MARRIAGE PROPOSAL, live, on TV6 the other morning? It’s been running on newscasts all over the nation.
In Detroit, Indianapolis, Columbus, South Carolina, Texas, Georgia and San Diego…as well as other stations we don’t even know about.
It’s easy to see why it was so popular. The segment on the TV6 Morning News–featuring anchor Sam Bauman proposing to reporter Blair Caldwell–was remarkably well-produced, funny, romantic and absolutely authentic.
Caldwell’s reactions were priceless.
“I knew it (a marriage proposal) was coming,” she explains. “I just didn’t know when. I knew Sam would do a thing because he doesn’t do anything halfway. He’s always over the top…”
Yeah, this was over the top, and wonderful. And now the whole nation knows about it.
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