EDITOR:

A lot of you are aware of a severe shortage of rental properties in Escanaba. There are some solutions, we just have to look “outside the box.” I drive all over town. There are several houses that have sat empty for a couple of decades. I am not sure why.

One house is supposed to have asbestos in it. That is the rumor. We rented for 10 years. We spent $40,000 in rent. I think the landlords of that house would have been happy to get any asbestos removed if there had been any. Across the street from the “asbestos house” is a building, office space? Why couldn’t that be turned in to an apartment? Let’s take Ludington Street. There are over a dozen commercial spots that are sitting empty. I was told that you could not live in those spaces. Why not? The old bank building at 7th and Ludington. I figure that there are about 25-30 office spaces in that building. Not up to code? What would it take? 25 rental units at $500 – $700 a month is over $150,000 in a year. There are several buildings next to that. Move up a street and you have more empties. The old 8th Street Coffee House. It is a shame that the eyesore doesn’t get fixed. The old Northern Stationers Store.

I am wondering what kind of zoning it would take to allow some of these buildings to be used as apartments or as storefronts. I know of several people that have no place to live. Winter will be here soon and, hopefully, Hope at the Inn Homeless shelter will be operating. The support has been dwindling since the pandemic. One of these buildings could become a permanent shelter instead of relying on churches.

Some see things as they are and say “why?” I see things as they never were and say “why not?

Tom Grant

Escanaba