MARINETTE — Marinette Mayor Steve Genisot highlighted parks and trails, apartments, a new monument at Menekaunee Harbor, a splash pad and the USS Marinette commissioning last Tuesday in his State of the City address at a common council meeting.
He credited the city departments that work behind the scenes to keep the city going.
“It’s not one person; it never will be,” Genisot said. “It’s a whole group of people: department heads, city workers and the council that makes it happen. Again, I just want to say thank you.”
PARKS AND PLAZA
People asking for more walking trails in Marinette will see a new one take shape on old railroad property.
Among the more significant highlights of Genisot’s address was the announcement that the city was awarded $450,000 from the Rails to Trails grant.
“We acquired the Canadian National Railroad property last year after seven years of negotiation,” Genisot said.
The city will transform the four acres of land from 8th Street to Ogden Street into a residential walking trail. An update at an upcoming city meeting will determine who will help with the design.
The mayor also included an update on the plaza between Pierce Avenue and Main Street. He showed a few renderings from Ayers Associates, which depict ample seating.
“It’s going to be an attractive place for people to come gather and have food, outdoor recreation and bands,” Genisot said.
HOUSING
Those who have driven by the Marinette Sheriff’s Department and the Aurora Medical Center — Bay Area may have seen the new apartments being built on the property annexed from the Town of Peshtigo.
“Some of the walls are going up, so it’s going up pretty quickly,” Genisot said. “We’ve got a lot of folks calling city hall and asking how they can rent it already.”
The property, that is part of the city’s Tax Incremental District 16 or TID 16, will contain 108 units and will be available to rent in mid to late summer.
Those looking to get on the waitlist can call Brandon Winters at Midwest Expansion at 920-434-7707 at extension 200 or email the leasing office at lease@midwestexpansion.com.
He also mentioned the old Bay Area Medical Center redevelopment, that is part of TID 17, including 170 units in townhomes and 21 single-family homes. This would likely start within the week. A zoning request will come to the council next month.
He said three lots — on Armstrong Street, Blaine Street and Carney Boulevard — are underway for tiny home projects. A completed tiny home on Armstrong Street sold in three days, and the others are under development.
OTHER PROJECTS
He said a splash pad at the Civic Center is taking shape and will be ready to open in 2025. Work will begin later this summer or fall with designs from Parkitecture.
Work continues on the former Fleet Farm property, in TID 15, and development plans for KK Integrated Logistics, in TID 18, and the former Knitting Mill property, in TID 19, are coming soon.
Genisot mentioned extending TID 13 to offer more incentives so that the Pine Tree Mall development would attract more interested parties. The incentives were to bring more of a national retail presence and repurpose the Applebee’s restaurant into another restaurant.
Nine street improvements were highlighted for 2023, and updates for 2024 include University Drive, Taylor Street, Green Gable Road, Shing-Wa-Uk Drive and Na-Wa-Ka Street.
“We’ll continue to do additional testing to see if we qualify for any DNR funding for sewer projects through the PFAS funding legislation the governor put out,” Genisot said.
The Ludington and Wells street improvements will also be finished this year, along with Ely Garage for parking.
TOURISM
The Menekaunee harbor has a new permanent installation honoring the five clans of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.
“I want to thank Alderperson [Ken] Keller,” Genisot said. “You have worked tirelessly on that. That’s a recognition of the Menominee Nation, and I just want to call that out. That’s definitely an asset we’ve added to the harbor.”
Along with the tribute to our Native American heritage, the harbor also saw 270 boats and upwards of a $1 million boost in our community due to the 2023 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s National Team Championship held in Marinette for fishing. Genisot said the city would look at future tournaments.
He mentioned the USS Marinette ship commissioning as a pride point of the year.
“The commissioning was a once-in-a-lifetime event and we were honored to be one of only three communities in history to commission a ship that was named after the city that built it,” he said.
People can visit marinette.wi.us and find the State of the City address PowerPoint on the homepage for more information.
Most Popular
Comments / 0