FRIENDS OF ORE DOCK BOTECO CENTER
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : p*******t@o***********o.o*g
Mission Statement
Our goal is, by repurposing the dormant Lower Harbor Iron Ore Dock, to create a special place on Marquette, Michigan's downtown waterfront that achieves a sustainable balance of educational, recreational, and commercial uses. The 4 pillars of our scope are 1) Ecological Education Facilities, 2) Year-round Indoor Botanical Gardens 3) Historical Preservation and Education 4) Community Spaces
About This Cause
Marquette, Michigan’s Lower Harbor on Lake Superior is home to an iron ore dock (the Dock) that was built in 1932 and decommissioned in 1971. It received iron ore via trains, stored the ore, and then loaded it into ore boats that further transported the ore to steel mills. Friends of Ore Dock BotEco Center (BotEco) is a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and repurposing the iconic structure, transforming it from a dormant industrial site into a revitalizing community center extending 1000 feet onto Lake Superior. The BotEco vision is an opportunity to help locals and tourists connect the region’s maritime heritage and mining culture and to encourage appreciation of Lake Superior itself in a year-round, modern, sustainable fashion that honors the area's past. The BotEco vision will protect community character and enhance public access to the structure (currently closed to the public). In essence it will be the finale of the well-established Iron Ore Heritage Trail. Since walkability from the Dock to exisitng shops, eateries, Northern Michigan University, and other businesses is ideal (all within a 20 minute maximum), this project will strenthen the local economy. Funding is through grants and philanthropic sources, with 2 endowments to cover improvements and operation/ maintenance costs. BotEco is poised to revitalize the Dock through engineering and design that will minimize impact on the lake and that will include low-cost construction of the following 3 phases: • a universally accessible, 2000-foot-long promenade around the Dock structure, an open-air performance space at the far end of the Dock, and a connector between the Dock and the shore • interior fit out of the lower deck to provide conferencing/educational facilities (including working models of the Dock for field trip visitors), providing service access to the upper deck, implimenting renewable energy sources such as solar panels and BESS on the upper deck • botanical fit out of upper deck, providing public access to upper deck, converting existing ore pockets into botanical planters, providing both outdoor and year-round indoor public gardens enhancing public health throughout long winters.