Layla Aslani/Daily Mining Gazette Michigan Tech bought the former Upper Peninsula Power Company building in July and plans to rename and renovate it beginning in May. Some Michigan Tech offices will relocate to the building, while current occupants will remain.

HOUGHTON — It is known as the UPPCO building, but soon, Michigan Technological University’s newly acquired building on Houghton’s downtown waterfront will have a different name. “We asked the campus to suggest names,” said Ellen Horsch, Tech’s vice president for administration. Currently the names are with President Glenn Mroz, who will recommend one to the university’s Board of Control. The building was purchased by Tech last July and is unique in that it joins the handful of other university off-campus sites and will continue to house current occupants of the building that include the Upper Peninsula Power Company, Ford and Gundlach Champion, Inc. A renovation of the building will begin in May and include upgrading the heating, ventilating and air conditioning, repairing leaks around the windows and building enclosed spaces for tenants. Green features will also be added, such as low-flow toilets and energy-efficient lighting, Horsch said.