HOUGHTON — Houghton has more clarity on the future of the Lakeshore Drive parking deck site than it did at the start of the year, even if what ultimately goes there has yet to be determined.

The city had been in negotiations with The Veridea Group in Marquette for the potential sale and development of the site for a year and a half. The process had drawn criticism from members of the public who felt the city should have gone to the community first to solicit ideas on what it wanted to see in the space.

Last December, Veridea unveiled plans for a mixed-use development on the site. The negotiations came to a halt in January, when Veridea withdrew, citing a perceived lack of commitment from the city.

Back at square one, the council voted to establish a subcommittee to study the deck issue and come up with recommendations. In July, the committee narrowed it down to two feasible options — both of which involved tearing down the 43-year-old deck.

The subcommittee had also looked at keeping the deck up or retaining part of it. But the deck has already been up since 1978. And its condition has deteriorated, requiring frequent maintenance.

“The idea of continually putting money into that deck does not make sense,” Tom Merz, chair of the subcommittee and the Planning Commission, said after the July meeting. “We should look to the future and what could be done to improve the situation. Today, if that deck were not there, no one would suggest we put that deck there. We got 40 years out of it, it’s time to move on.”

The council voted to begin parallel processes for tearing down the deck and deciding what should replace it.

Twelve Houghton residents helped lay out priorities during a precharrette workshop held at Dee Stadium in July led by Holly Madill, director of the National Charrette Institute at Michigan State University. Topics included what areas should be covered in a full charrette, such as parking and walkability, and what the product of the session should look like.

In September, urban planner Pat Coleman hosted the first of two public sessions on the deck, where he first went into the deck’s history before splitting the crowd into groups to come up with proposals for the deck. Attendees then picked their favorite suggestions to come from the exercise. Popular ideas springing from the session included mixed-use development, additional housing and green space.

Coleman gave a presentation on his progress so far to the Planning Commission in December; a final report is still coming, City Manager Eric Waara said at the first 2022 council meeting. Over the next two months, Waara said, the council, along with the Downtown Development Authority and Planning Commission, will need to discuss how to start paying for the work on the parking deck property, and how to leverage other opportunities.

“We’ve got a busy couple of months ahead of us here,” he said.