VA grants $63 million for new Marquette veterans home
A $63.4 million VA grant will replace Marquette's aging Jacobetti home, a 100-veteran facility that serves Iron County families across the U.P.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has put $63.4 million toward a new veterans home in Marquette, money that will help replace the aging D.J. Jacobetti campus and build a 100-bed facility for older veterans from Iron County and the rest of the Upper Peninsula.
Michigan officials say the project is backed by the VA State Veterans Home Construction Grant Program and a state match approved in 2022, which made the project eligible for federal funding. VA rules allow the program to reimburse up to 65% of eligible construction costs, and the agency says the grants are intended for state-owned nursing homes and other veterans care facilities that need to be constructed, renovated or upgraded.
For local families, the details matter because the current D.J. Jacobetti home sits at 425 Fisher Street in Marquette, while the new facility is planned for Marquette Township. Michigan Veteran Homes says the new campus is intended to replace the existing home because it is aging, and state officials have described the project as using newer, home-like long-term care design with the same kind of features already in place at the state’s newer veterans homes in Chesterfield Township and Grand Rapids.
That has real consequences for daily care. A newer building can mean safer resident spaces, better comfort, and fewer of the maintenance problems that come with a 45-year-old facility. VA guidance says the grant program is used when a project helps remedy conditions that threaten residents’ lives or safety, and Michigan has said the money will support a modern home for veterans who need nursing care, not just cosmetic work.
The project has moved through several formal steps over the past two years. Michigan said it received the federal funding in fiscal year 2023, later reached agreement to buy property in Marquette Township in June 2024, and broke ground in May 2025. A Michigan construction report then noted a final environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact in July 2025, conditional grant approval on Aug. 1, 2025, and a final budget submitted in September 2025, with a final memorandum of agreement still pending.
Michigan Veteran Homes says it operates three home-like settings statewide and has cared for veterans for 135 years. For Iron County, where many families are tied to the broader U.P. veterans network, the new Marquette home will be the region’s main long-term-care anchor for veterans who need a state-run place to live.
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