Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette The village of Calumet has begun to see a resurgence in investment and business, which is tied to the growing high-tech economy of its surrounding neighbors. Calumet Village resurgence tied to township economy

CALUMET – As Calumet celebrates its 150th anniversary as an incorporated village, its officials and residents have much to be proud of, particularly in progress made in the last decade.

The recent announcement of a $1.5 million Revitalization and Placemaking (RAP) grant with a total anticipated capital investment of $5,665,965 to rehabilitate two historic buildings, the Quello Block and the adjacent Kirby building, to develop a 17-bed boutique hotel and upscale restaurant, representing the largest private investment in downtown Calumet in recent history, is the latest example of the revitalization occurring in the village.

Another recent accomplishment was the conversion of a vacant property south of the Calumet Theatre into a developed public green space including a band shell.

The effort to revitalize and recreate Calumet has been a long process, says Jeff Ratcliffe, executive director of the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance (KEDA), essentially beginning in 2016, when KEDA, Main Street Calumet, the village of Calumet, Calumet DDA, and many more local stakeholders formed Bring Back Calumet, an organization dedicated to ramping up the fight against blight in the historic downtown district.

The Bring Back Calumet Initiative is a coalition of local and regional organizations working together to advance preservation and economic revitalization. Its members include the Keweenaw Community Foundation; the Village of Calumet and its Downtown Development Authority (DDA); the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance (KEDA); the Houghton County Land Bank (HCLBA); the Keweenaw National Historical Park and Advisory Commission; and Main Street Calumet, Inc.

Calumet had been the commercial hub of the Calumet and Hecla mining locations; it is once again begun to place itself in that position in Calumet Township. Ratcliffe said Calumet Village’s recovery is in tandem with the surrounding area’s economy.

“The fundamentals have always been there,” he said, “it’s just taken time to appropriate leadership to be in the right place at the right time.”

Calumet Township is the largest township in Houghton County, as well as the highest population. It has over one-third of the manufacturing technology employment in Houghton, Keweenaw and Baraga counties. The visitor economy, tourism, is hugely important, Ratcliffe said, citing Mt. Bohemia, Mont Ripley, other forms of outdoor recreation, that all contribute significantly to the economy.

“But what we have that they (other local communities) don’t have,” he said, “is a base economy. So, we also have a more diverse economy. We’re not just depending on people coming in seasonally.”

Ratcliffe said Michigan Technological University, and its Keweenaw Research Center (KRC) seeded a diverse economy, with new companies that grew out of researchers, Michigan Tech faculty, and also the local area. “Take companies like REL that was just a small machine shop, and it was able to start to do some things and it took off,” Ratcliffe said. “Look at them now: The dad has an engineering degree and two of his sons have advanced materials degrees.”

REL was founded in Calumet Township in 1993 as a job shop machining business that serviced local customers. The company now has more than 50 employees, a world class manufacturing facility of more than 80,000 sq feet, and three lines of equipment solutions to provide solutions to a global customer base. According to REL the firm has extensive background in engineering, manufacturing, mechanical design, and advanced materials that allow for cutting edge, deployable technology solutions to Aerospace, Automotive, Oil, and Material Testing industries.

Calumet Electronics, a 300-employee company, is another example of high-tech research and manufacturing rising from the remains of a mining district.

Loukus Technologies, a specialist in advanced alloy development for the defense and energy sectors, and Calumet Electronics, are key components of the region’s expanding technology sector. In 2024, Fast Company reported that Calumet Township has become a global center for manufacturing, research, and development of new technologies.