HOUGHTON, MI – A vacant building will be transformed into a hub of creativity and growth in downtown Houghton.
The city on Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula was recently awarded a $3.9 million grant from the MEDC’s Michigan Talent Partnership Program, which supports transformational public space projects aimed at attracting and retaining talent, and creating business opportunities for residents. The grant will fund two projects and jumpstart a third.
“This grant will take us another 10 steps forward,” said Eric Waara, city manager. “It’s all about creating a really nice place to live and do business.”
Houghton Business and Creative Incubator
Most of the funding – $3.5 million – will help create the Houghton Business and Creative Incubator.
“We will have a space where it’s affordable to get in and safe to fail,” Waara said.
Built in the 1980s, a former transportation center at 326 Sheldon Ave. now sits vacant, but ready to meet the community’s needs, he said. The grant will fund the city’s property acquisition and remodel into a business incubator.
According to the grant application, the two-story building will be divided into 150- to 300-square-foot workspaces connected by public areas. These spaces will be leased to creatives and emerging small businesses, providing a safe, affordable way to establish themselves and test the market—with the goal of eventually growing into their own downtown locations.
The incubator could open as early as spring 2027, according to the grant application.
Shelden Avenue Pocket Park
Year-round public restrooms are the focal point of the second project funded by the grant.
About $300,000 is allocated to establish the Sheldon Avenue Pocket Park. It will be situated at 509 Sheldon Ave., which is currently vacant.
“The vision for the Shelden Avenue Pocket Park is simple yet impactful,” according to the grant application. “It fills a long-standing need for a welcoming public space—an open area adorned with plantings, comfortable seating, a raised platform, subtle lighting, and accessible restrooms.”
The park could open as early as fall 2026.
Non-motorized trail extension
The final piece of this MEDC grant is $55,000 toward a nonmotorized trail extension, which would connect downtown Houghton to the Michigan Tech campus.
“There’s no good way to get from campus to the waterfront trail system, which connects to downtown,” Waara said. “This is a trail connector to campus.”
The city requested $1.1 million for the trail but instead was awarded funds to assist in planning and writing an additional application to the Michigan Department of Transportation for a Transportation Alternatives Program grant, which could then fund the project.
