Ben Garbacz/Daily Mining Gazette Houghton City Planning Commissioner Bill Leder, left and Houghton City Manager Eric Waarab go over the recommendations to be made to the Houghton City Council regarding 902 College Ave. The property will be the new location for U.P. State Bank and include a mixed unit or residential building.

HOUGHTON — The Houghton County Planning Commission met Tuesday to discuss the property on 902 College Avenue, which contains the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce building. The property will become the new site of U.P. State Bank along with another or possibly two more buildings. Items passed resulted in recommendations to the city council for Resolution 2025-134 for a lot split, variance request for the property and the development plan and purchase agreement. The lot split encompasses a parcel of property the city is planning to carve out as a sale property. The city will retain a strip along the north side of the property.

City Manager Eric Waara said one of the reasons the city wants to keep this strip is due to the water and sewer authority interceptor being there and wanting to keep the sewer within public property. Waara also said this will have an impact on parking in the area which bumps into National Park Service parking, which includes realignment for parking.

“There’s a foggy line in between Park Service parking and public parking right there,” Waara explained. “It’s a giant sea of asphalt with a stop sign stuck in it right now.”

The variance request is due to the unique shape of the property on College Avenue with the location and curved roads molding an arrowhead shape. The variance request is for one foot, and the current building has less than a foot.

The development plan and purchase agreement went over the conditions for the property purchase which included at least a mixed unit or residential building on the property that would increase housing.

Waara said that in order to ensure the purchase agreement stayed in full force, U.P. State Bank could be given 150 days to begin the project instead of 90 days due to dealing with permits and other potential setbacks. However it is believed that the bank and the construction company will be looking to begin construction as soon as possible following the agreement.

The Planning Commission will also recommend the City Council approve the capital improvement plan.