LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — In the Upper Peninsula, “workforce housing” now apparently means $2,900-a-month rent and half-million-dollar homes. 

That’s according to newly released records showing developer Robert Mahaney’s Veridea Group received $10.5 million in state support for three Marquette-area projects. The funding was approved in 2022, but the documents detailing where the money went were not disclosed until late 2025, prompting renewed scrutiny.

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Most of the money—$8 million—covered demolition at the former Marquette General Hospital site, which the Northern Michigan University (NMU) Foundation later tapped Veridea to redevelop. The remaining $2.5 million flowed through InvestUP, a publicly funded economic development group that funneled cash to a luxury apartment complex and pricey single-family homes.

Critics say that’s a creative interpretation of “workforce housing,” especially in a county where the median household income hovers around $63,000. “On what planet is $2,900 a month affordable housing?” Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) said.

InvestUP leaders contend the U.P. needs more “suitable housing” to attract  high-skilled workers, a need Mahaney says his hospital redevelopment—“the largest private project in the history of the U.P.”—aims to meet.

In short, the disclosures add to scrutiny over pandemic-era spending that quietly bankrolled politically connected projects across Michigan.