New year, new thread!
As discussed under the "
Michigan Development Threads Organization", let's re-launch a new discussion thread for all general developments in beautiful Northern Michigan. For organizational purposes, "Northern Michigan" is defined here roughly by US Route 10, as illustrated below -
***Here is a link to the previous thread that was started by DetroitSky in August of 2019. For some reason, it does not show up for me in the general listing of threads under the Midwest section.***
Obviously, this represents a vast geographical area with only small pockets of development. Roughly 920,000 people reside in this 41-county region (300,000 of that are in the UP). That equates to about 9% of the population of the entire state residing in roughly 50% of its land area, with the remaining 91% in the lower half of the state.
Most of the development discussion on this thread will focus on the principal "large" municipalities of the northern half of the state. I'm defining "large" as anywhere with a population of 8,000+. This includes Marquette, Traverse City, Sault Ste. Marie, Escanaba, East Bay Township, Cadillac, Alpena, Ludington, and Menominee. That is not to say that developments outside of these municipalities cannot be discussed, but the focus should remain on urban areas and / or projects in excess of $1 million construction cost. Tourist destinations & smaller cities / towns with stuff happening - places like Houghton, Iron Mountain, Manistee, Petoskey, Ironwood, Cheboygan, Acme, Negaunee, Hancock, Boyne City, Gaylord, Charlevoix, St. Ignace, Munising, East Jordan, Mackinac Island, Mackinaw City, Interlochen, etc. - though smaller, might also get some attention. Virtually all of these locations are water-adjacent. Other intriguing, post-industrial places - cities like Ishpeming & Negaunee, and villages like Laurium & Calumet - might get some coverage too.
The cities highlighted below are organized by population and are arranged from largest to smallest (2020 estimates) -
Code:
Marquette - Marquette County
Population: ~20,600 (2020)
Source: marinas.com
Traverse City - Grand Traverse & Leelanau Counties
Population: ~15,500 (2020)
Source: Crain's Detroit Business | Getty Images
Sault Ste. Marie - Chippewa County
Population: ~13,500 (2020)
Source: Wikipedia
Escanaba - Delta County
Population: ~12,200 (2020)
Source: marinas.com
East Bay Township - Grand Traverse County
Population: ~11,600 (2020)
Source: Benzie Record Patriot
Cadillac - Wexford County
Population: ~10,500 (2020)
Source: Schmidt Resources
Alpena - Alpena County
Population: ~10,000 (2020)
Source: Michigan Sea Grant
Ludington - Mason County
Population: ~8,100 (2020)
Source: marinas.com
Menominee - Menominee County
Population: ~8,100 (2020)
Source: marinas.com
Houghton - Houghton County
Population: ~7,800 (2020)
Source: City of Houghton
Iron Mountain - Dickinson County
Population: ~7,400 (2020)
Source: The Municipal
Manistee - Manistee County
Population: ~6,100 (2020)
Source: Sunshine Nomads
Petoskey - Emmet County
Population: ~5,700 (2020)
Source: Weather Atlas
Ironwood - Gogebic County
Population: ~ 5,000 (2020)
Source: Lake Superior Magazine
Cheboygan - Cheboygan County
Population: ~4,700 (2020)
Source: Northern Express
Acme - Grand Traverse County
Population: ~4,700 (2020)
Source: Pure Michigan
Negaunee - Marquette County
Population: ~ 4,600 (2020)
Source: Flickr | Brandon Bartoszek
Hancock - Houghton County
Population: ~4,500 (2020)
Source: marinas.com
Boyne City - Charlevoix County
Population: ~3,700 (2020)
Source: brookwalsh.com
Gaylord - Otsego County
Population: ~3,600 (2020)
Source: city-data.com
Charlevoix - Charlevoix County
Population: ~2,500 (2020)
Source: marinas.com
St. Ignace - Mackinac County
Population: ~2,100 (2020)
Source: marinas.com
Munising - Alger County
Population: ~2,000 (2020)
Source: Munising Hockey Association
East Jordan - Charlevoix County
Population: ~2,100 (2020)
Source: Brook Walsh Real Estate
Mackinac Island - Mackinac County
(Year-Round) Population: ~1,000 (2020)
Source: Travel + Leisure
Mackinaw City - Cheboygan & Emmet Counties
Population: ~700 (2020)
Source: Weather Atlas
Interlochen - Grand Traverse County
Population: ~400 (2020)
Source: Green Lake Township