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February 12, 2005Developer eyes Front St.He says it is 'premature' to discuss specificsByRecord-Eagle business editor By Record-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - A downstate developer is eyeing property worth millions along West Front Street for a major mixed-use development. Michael Uzelac of Howell met in recent weeks with city officials and property owners in the 100 block of West Front Street west of Union Street to discuss a sweeping redevelopment that would dramatically change the face of west downtown. Properties of interest to Uzelac's group include the dilapidated former Grand Traverse Auto property, a local engineering office and land owned by the Record-Eagle. Uzelac on Friday acknowledged those discussions but said it was "premature" to discuss specifics. "I don't know what could or could not go there," Uzelac said. "We're just fact-finding right now ... there are no signed purchase agreements or nothing." Uzelac is a partner in a $50 million project in downtown Petoskey proposed by Lake Street Petoskey Associates of Farmington Hills. That project is also a private and public partnership and includes a hotel, condominiums, conference center, mixed commercial uses, a bank and a two-level parking facility. The city of Petoskey would own and operate one level of the parking structure. Key properties in the Traverse City project would include more than $4 million worth of land owned by the Harry Calcutt Trust. They include the former Grand Traverse Auto site and separate parcels on either side of Pine Street. Attorney William Calcutt, who represents the family trust, wouldn't comment. "I won't discuss any deals regardless of who it's with until it's consummated," Calcutt said Friday. Gourdie-Fraser Associates, an engineering firm that owns and occupies the office building at 123 W. Front with an estimated value just over $1 million, confirmed they've been contacted by Uzelac. "We haven't closed the door," company president Gary Wilson said. "We're going to have to look at the good and the bad of it. "Let me put it this way - we're not anti-against it," he added. Record-Eagle publisher Zeke Fleet said Uzelac approached the newspaper about the availability of some of its property. "(Uzelac) made it very clear everything was very tentative at this point," Fleet said. The potential deal could include a large, public-private parking deck as part of a mixed-use commercial structure, Uzelac and city officials said. The Record-Eagle filed a state Freedom of Information Act request with the city last week for documents tied to downtown redevelopment, including the Grand Traverse Auto property. The city turned over some e-mail messages exchanged with Uzelac, but officials said no plans or drawings had been submitted. City officials have long envisioned a parking deck on the west end of its downtown. The city and Downtown Development Authority last spring drew up a "statement of position" that spells out what it wants any project there to include - and more parking is prominent among those goals. It also explains financial incentives such as brownfield money and tax increment financing that could be used to help pay for a parking deck. Uzelac said he's discussed a joint parking venture with the city as part of his plans. "We talked about the Radio Centre project and what was done there," he said, referring to the city's $8 million four-story parking deck on East Front Street. "We think that's a good deal." There are similarities between what the city would like to see at the site and what has been proposed for Petoskey. DDA director Bryan Crough said he doesn't know all the specifics of the Petoskey plan, but a "mixed-use development that includes parking is what we've been saying (we want) all along" for the three Calcutt parcels. Land on the south side of West Front Street is part of the city's C-4c zoning district, where buildings up to 85 feet (eight stories) are allowed. The north side, along the Boardman River, is zoned C-4b, with a 60-foot height maximum that increases to 68 feet with a residential floor. If Uzelac "feels comfortable with the private sector portions" of a development, Crough said the city could assist in securing brownfield and tax increment financing dollars for a parking deck. The DDA thinks at least one of the parcels "ought to have a parking component," and any new development there would only increase that existing need, Crough said. "Certainly (Uzelac) has experience in creating these kinds of developments," Crough said. City manager Richard Lewis said he knows of Uzelac's interest in the property - but says he's not alone. "I have heard that name ... but I have heard there are others that are looking at the property," Lewis said.
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