The Marquette County Land Bank Authority (MCLBA), working alongside InvestUP and the Lake Superior Community Partnership (LSCP), secured $50,000 from the Michigan Office of Rural Development to support hiring a Housing Specialist, bolstering efforts to increase housing in Marquette County and the surrounding region. 

This allocation is from the inaugural round of Rural Readiness Grants, a new program aimed at helping rural communities build long-term capacity. Out of roughly 90 initial submissions, the MCLBA was among just 21 recipients statewide. The grant will be complemented by local contributions from MCLBA, InvestUP, and the LSCP Chairman’s Circle.

In addition to the $50,000 Rural Readiness Grant, the Community Foundation of Marquette County (CFMC) has awarded a $25,000 grant from the Rod and Holly Aldrich Donor Advised Fund to the MCLBA to help address community housing needs. This contribution will further leverage the investment in capacity to address housing needs in the region.  

Anne Giroux, Executive Director of the MCLBA, commented, “It is an honor to be selected to receive these funds, especially given the competitive nature of this first round. We value our strong relationship with the Office of Rural Development and appreciate their trust in our proposal. The MCLBA has worked tirelessly to build relationships and collaborate with many partners, including InvestUP, LSCP, and the Community Foundation of Marquette County, and we’re looking forward to the impact of having a full-time position dedicated to creating new housing opportunities.”  

To achieve the overall goal of adding more housing, the Housing Specialist will undertake various responsibilities, including: 

• Engaging in Marquette County Local Government Task Force quarterly meetings. 
• Overseeing the Target Market Analysis. 
• Creating development plans for multi-unit housing projects at different sites in Marquette County 
• Coordinating plans for housing development on sites where blight elimination dollars have been or will be spent 
• Developing an online resource library of tools and funding sources for land banks and local units of government to access and use in the future, including a locally focused pattern book of housing units/blueprints 
• Participating in regional discussions, trainings, and workshops 
• Assisting municipalities outside of Marquette County with housing projects 
• Linking communities to the InvestUP Housing fund. 

Christopher Germain, LSCP’s CEO (left), emphasized the synergy of collaborations: “Housing is a complex issue and requires many partners all rowing in the same direction. Anne’s work at the MCLBA is second to none, and the LSCP has been honored to work with the MCLBA to collectively facilitate new housing throughout Marquette County, in addition to the work of our friends at InvestUP. In recent years, the LSCP has dedicated significant staff time to housing efforts, and now – thanks to this investment from the state and local partners – we’ll be able to enhance those efforts even further and add direct capacity to one of our key local partners. This added capacity will be a game changer.” 

Zosia Eppensteiner, CEO of CFMC added, “We are grateful to our donors who recognize needs such as housing in our community and we are happy to leverage those dollars and partner with public organizations addressing these needs.” 

The specialist will also facilitate access to regional resources like InvestUP’s Build U.P. Housing Fund. Thanks to InvestUP’s investment, the Housing Specialist will extend their services to other Upper Peninsula communities, enriching the entire region.  

Marty Fittante, InvestUP CEO, added "We couldn't be more pleased to enhance our ongoing partnership with local organizations such as the MCLBA and the LSCP. Housing is a critical issue that requires multiple tools to address. We look forward to this position's impact and are excited to see how it will benefit the entire Upper Peninsula."   

Plans for the specialist's recruitment are underway, targeting an early 2024 appointment. The current grant ensures the role's sustainability for about fifteen months.  

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Prepared by Ashley Szczepanski. For more information, contact the Lake Superior Community Partnership at (906) 226-6591. The Lake Superior Community Partnership (LSCP) is Marquette County’s resource for economic development, providing a wide variety of affordable and effective development services. The LSCP helps our partners make the connections that matter – between businesses, organizations, leaders and legislators, and provides a powerful legislative voice for programs and policies that strengthen our regional economy. More information on the Lake Superior Community Partnership can be found at www.marquette.org.