News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Employees put some finishing touches on Alpena’s new Marshalls department store on Thursday. The store is expected to open on Aug. 10.

ALPENA — Officials released a lot of economic development news on Thursday as a new retail store neared opening and a grocery store took the first steps toward becoming a reality.

In a press release Thursday, Marshalls announced it will open its new department store in Alpena on Aug. 10.

Meanwhile, in his monthly economic development update, Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Director Mike Mahler said grocer Aldi has purchased property on M-32 near where a Hampton Inn is being constructed.

Marshalls President Tim Miner said in the news release that the new Alpena store will provide quality products and services at reasonable prices to people who live or visit Northeast Michigan.

“Our newest store in Alpena will offer an ever-changing selection of high-quality, on-trend, and brand-name merchandise at the amazing prices that Marshalls is known for,” Miner said. “We’re excited to bring this experience and exceptional values from fashion and beauty to home and more to a new neighborhood. With thousands of new items delivered to our stores every day, we strive to provide our shoppers with amazing brands every time they shop.”

Mahler provided little information about the Aldi project, which has been in and out of the works for several years, but it appears there is a good chance the discount grocery store could become a reality.

“They bought the land and we might just have one of these stores in our community someday,” Mahler said in his email update.

Mahler also provided more details on other projects in the Alpena area.

He said a mixed-use project is moving forward at the former site of the Habitat for Humanity store on Chisholm Street.

The developer, Bruce Dietz, has been working to find a tenant for the first floor of the building and it appears he has landed one.

Earlier this week, officials announced the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, also known as PACE, will provide elder care on the entire first floor of the building by 2024. The second floor will consist of apartment units.

PACE is “an alternative to nursing home care,” PACE Association of Michigan Executive Director Stephanie Winslow told The News. “Post-pandemic, people want more of a voice on where they age. Our PACE services will allow them to do just that. We provide them with all the services and support they would need to live safely in their community.”

The apartments included in the project are an added bonus and badly needed. A consultant recently told the Alpena Municipal Council that the area needs 100 new housing units to meet demand.

Another proposed project, still in its early stages, could see more than 60 apartments built on the shore of the Thunder Bay River where the Alpena Power Co. office once sat at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Water Street.

According to Mahler, he has applied for a Michigan Economic Development Corp. Revitalization and Placemaking grant for 2023 that could lead to a new structure built that would have businesses on the first floor and dozens of apartments on the upper levels.

“This four-story project would be transformative for the downtown,” Mahler said. “It would add sixty-six apartments and a restaurant to our riverfront. We will know the status of the funding request this fall.”

Mahler said that, since the housing and banking crisis in 2008, the only construction projects being completed are custom-built homes under contract with a client, and the days of building speculative housing ended with the crisis.

He said finding ways to help developers tackle housing projects — whether new subdivisions or apartments for purchase or rent — is critical. One way to do so is to try to help financially by seeking state and federal funds.

Mahler said some of those grants have stipulations that the housing must be affordable, which makes some people reluctant to take action.

However, without more housing, he said, economic growth could slow in the future.

“I have recently come into a situation where the lack of understanding is causing some challenges for a potential project that would be good for the community where it is being considered,” Mahler said. “When people hear the words ‘affordable’ or ‘low-income’ housing, some immediately become concerned. As we approach solving the housing issues across our community and region, it will require open minds.

“For us to be able to attract capital to the area to support workforce housing, it will only happen if there are subsidies,” he added. “Without the support, these projects will not come to life. Most of the government programs that subsidize housing creation have a requirement for rent limits for some of the units in the development. If we are going to attract young people and families back to the area, we need a place for them to live. We have great momentum and the goal to continue to build upon it. Absent new housing options, this will be hard to do.”