Downtown Marquette broke ground on the 80-room Trestle Hotel on Friday, Sept. 4. The waterfront project at 100 S. Lakeshore Blvd. will add a hotel and restaurant to the city's core.

The ceremony celebrated the setting of first-floor steel, WLUC TV6 reported. Construction will now move to the upper floors, with the hotel expected to open in late summer 2027.

Braveworks owner Jen Julien, the project's developer, told WLUC the hotel will benefit the surrounding area.

"Just have a place where people can stay and enjoy Lake Superior and enjoy all that downtown Marquette has to offer," Julien said. "And lift up neighboring businesses, and bringing even more foot traffic on a daily basis."

Deputy City Manager Sean Hobbins and InvestUP CEO Marty Fittante also spoke at the event, according to WLUC.

The project includes the hotel, commercial space and a two-story public parking structure, according to WNMU-FM. The Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $3.3 million Tax Increment Financing plan for the development in August.

The downtown Marquette Facebook page said the in-hotel restaurant will serve as a dining destination for residents and visitors, according to a post by Downtown Marquette.

The Trestle is Phase 1 of the larger Vault/Trestle development. The original plan included residential units and 200 public parking spots, but both were dropped from the amended project, according to the Mining Journal's April coverage of the Marquette City Commission vote.

The commission voted 5-1 in April to approve the amendments.

Phase 2 calls for redeveloping the historic State Savings Bank building with a 21,000-square-foot addition and a third level on the parking deck. A bridge will connect the two properties. Marquette city planning and zoning administrator David Stensaas said in April that Phase 2 would begin within five years of Phase 1's completion.

Students in the Upper Peninsula Construction Council's Building Trades Summer Camp toured the active construction site in August, according to MyUPNow.com.

Construction continues through the winter, targeting a late summer 2027 opening.