Delta County looks forward to hotel
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ESCANABA -- Business owners, city officials, lenders, the Delta County Chamber of Commerce and more gathered at a waterfront site in Escanaba yesterday to celebrate development.
The Delta County Jail at 111 N. Third St., located behind the Delta County Courthouse, closed in 2019 and moved into the current facility at 2800 College Ave. Plans for a hotel at the old site were proposed more than once since.
In 2019, a company called Proxima Management entered into an agreement with the City of Escanaba. Proxima was to work on tearing down the old jail and erect a hotel, as well as develop the former Chamber building, where Northshore Flats is now proposed. But when Proxima stopped responding to communication, hadn’t made progress and grant funds went missing, the city cancelled the agreement at the end of 2021.
In 2022, the city council considered bringing in a developer from downstate to work on the two sites. But ultimately, new plans brought forward by the owners of Terrace Bay Hotel in Gladstone kept development local.
After a few more seasons of adjusting plans and working with Escanaba’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority; Downtown Development Authority (DDA); Planning and Zoning Department; banks; and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE); construction to begin building the foundation of a Hampton Inn at 111 N. Third.
The demolition of the former jail began in November 2024. Earlier this summer, the city agreed to rezone the jail property for commercial use.
“Who would ever build a jail here on the waterfront in the heart of downtown Escanaba?” Jarred Drown, Terrace Bay co-owner, said at a ceremony on Monday. “But fortunately for Escanaba, the city and the county worked together beautifully to combine these parcels for private commercial developments. We’re grateful for that opportunity, and the opportunity to build a 93-room…hotel right here at the end of downtown.”
Eric Lundin, Senior Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at U.P. State Bank, spoke highly and with optimism about the project and its leaders -- Jarred and Jen Drown and Rick Elrod.
“The thing that really stood out to me was their sense of community,” Lundin said, stating that U.P State Bank was proud to partner with the developers. “They speak so favorably of Delta County and the Upper Peninsula. They are passionate promoters of our area; specifically, they knew what downtown Escanaba was and what it wants to be, and the role they could play in that.”
Moyle Construction, the general contractor, began working on the property a few weeks ago.
“We’re just wrapping up foundations. Over the course of the next month, we’ll be starting to build this thing vertical,” said Andrew from Moyle Construction. “I would think by Christmas or New Year’s time, we’re going to start to see a hotel take shape. Throughout the winter months, we’re going to go four stories high.”
Construction is estimated to be completed in late 2027 or early 2028. Jen Drown said she expects to open fully for guests in 2028.
“This group had a really big idea. Did some hard work. It’s going to be pretty amazing, and it’s a testament to the things that we’ve all been sharing the last few years,” said Mayor Mark Ammel at the ceremony yesterday. “If we all work together, if we pull our strengths, if we pull from everything that we have with the talent we have …there is nothing that we, as residents of the Upper Peninsula of Delta County of Escanaba, can’t accomplish if we just work together.”