Photo courtesy of City of Houghton A conceptual rendering shows an aerial view of what Lakeshore Drive could potentially look like after streetscape work once the parking deck has been torn down.

HOUGHTON — Houghton has received a $1 million state grant to improve the Lakeshore Drive streetscape once the big deck has been torn down.

The Michigan Strategic Fund approved the grant as part of $100 million in spending through the Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s Revitalization and Placemaking (RAP) program. The grants are aimed at promoting development to counteract the negative economic impacts of COVID in downtowns, social zones and public spaces.

“We’re just excited that we were able to obtain these dollars that are out there, and bring some of these dollars to the U.P., especially Houghton,” Houghton City Manager Eric Waara said.

In February, the city council voted to issue bonds to finance the teardown of the deck. Along with that, the city began looking for ways to leverage that investment into grants to help transform Lakeshore Drive from “the cave” of the deck days, Waara said.

“It’s turning that two-and-a-half blocks of Lakeshore Drive into a contributing downtown street by making it bikeable, walkable, parkable, and desirable to be on,” he said.

The money has to be spent by the end of 2025. Waara hopes the city will be able to spend it by the middle of 2023.

The city prepared conceptual renderings earlier this year as a rough guide to what the street could look like once the deck is gone. That helped demonstrate to the state that the city’s project was aligned with the state’s goals for the grant, Waara said.

“They looked at conceptually what we want to do, and they were like ‘Yeah, this is what this grant program’s for,” Waara said. “So now it’s refining those concepts.”

With the grant approved, the city will begin working with a landscape architect on features for stormwater management and the best ways to get people back and forth between Shelden Avenue and Lakeshore Drive. The new look for Lakeshore Drive will also include placemaking features such as artwork.

“We didn’t dive headlong into figuring that out until we got the grant, so there’s still time to look into that stuff,” Waara said.

Wednesday’s announcement covered $83.8 million in funds; the rest will be announced later.

“Today’s grants underscore our proactive investments in projects that promote population and tax revenue growth in our communities. These investments will help create vibrant places that attract and retain talent, add new housing options, enable business creation and attraction, and provide resources for Michigan citizens and communities,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “By putting federal funds to work to address the impacts of COVID-19, we are making a real impact on our families, our communities, and our small businesses. I will work with anyone to keep getting things done and growing our economy.”