Harbor Village plans $17.6M luxury hotel, 68 jobs at Lake Michigan

Harbor Village plans $17.6M luxury hotel, 68 jobs at Lake Michigan

A rendering of the mixed-use Harbor Village development at Harbor Shores, along Lake Michigan in St. Joseph. Image via harborshoreslife.com

The state is helping Lake Michigan see a new resort-style hotel on its shores.

The state’s Michigan Strategic Fund approved $3 million in economic development funding yesterday for a planned resort-style hotel in St. Joseph, near the Whirlpool corporate campus.

The fund approved $2.1 million in Community Development Block Grant funds for infrastructure improvements for Harbor Village at Harbor Shores LLC.

Harbor Village hotel and condos

The improvements include installing public water and sewer systems, parking and walking trails. There also are plans to redevelop a former St. Joseph industrial site, which now sits vacant, into a 100 room luxury hotel.

The establishment would include a restaurant, bar, meeting rooms and conference space, fitness and spa area — and two floors of residential condos with private parking.

Harbor Village will invest $17.6 million into the project, creating 68 full-time-equivalent jobs, with at least 51 percent expected to be held by low- and moderate-income individuals, over the next two years.

The project was also awarded a $900,000 Michigan Community Revitalization Program performance grant via the fund and will receive $266,120 as a contribution from the city of St. Joseph.

‘Comeback state’

The hotel funding is part of the state’s most recent economic development funding for statewide projects, expected to generate more than $767 million in new investment and create nearly 5,000 jobs. 

The other projects include development of a multi-purpose events center in Detroit that will serve as the home for the Detroit Red Wings and expansion of Jackson Life Insurance Company’s corporate headquarters in Lansing.

The reinvention of Michigan is working, making it the “comeback state,” said Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, adding that these projects will add to the state’s growing momentum and economic growth.

“We’ve put in place bold reforms to improve Michigan’s business climate and create jobs. Those reforms are based on policies that embrace public-private partnerships and encourage businesses to expand and create more and better jobs,” Snyder said. “These projects in Detroit, Lansing and St. Joseph reflect the underlying strength of those policies and how they’re helping to create jobs for the people of Michigan.”

“Today’s projects will help strengthen and revitalize these Michigan communities and help growing companies generate new job opportunities,” said Michael Finney, President and CEO of Michigan Economic Development Corp., the state’s marketing arm. “We should all applaud these investments in Michigan’s future.”