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July 21, 2005Plans are meshing with city visionFewer parking spots are in the cards for nowByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Plans for a large-scale West Front Street building project are advancing quickly and match the city's downtown vision, reported city officials and the developer in an update to the planning commission. Specifics about a $70 million redevelopment that would straddle both sides of the downtown's main drag have yet to be detailed. But developer Michael Uzelac of Federated Properties, LLC told city planners Wednesday he hoped to be back Aug. 3 with "more definitive" ideas and drawings. Planners did learn the project likely will include less than the 566 parking spaces city officials earlier hoped to build on the west end. Public parking is still a major component of the multi-use development, with the city's share expected to cost $10 million to $12 million. "Federated Properties is bringing essentially what we said we wanted, and we are thrilled about that," said Bryan Crough, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority. The developer's current plan is to build a parking deck for 364 cars at the corner of Pine and West Front Street. Cars would enter and exit that deck through an access near what is now the front door of the Gourdie-Fraser building on West Front Street and also from a point on Pine Street, Crough said. The deck would be topped with several residential floors. Parking for 144 cars would be built across the street at the former Grand Traverse Auto site. There, parking would be behind and below a four story retail and office complex. Exactly what mix of uses - commercial, retail or residential - will be market driven, the developer said. "There seems to be a glut, or a perceived glut, of office space now," said city commissioner Scott Hardy, also a member of the planning board. Higher residential use requires less parking than commercial uses, Crough said. The number of parking spaces is also limited by site constraints and city funding "limitations," he said. One city resident questioned the city's investment in public parking. Chuck Avery said if more parking is needed, "somebody would put it up." "If this development needs parking, let the developer build it," he said. The project is "very much in the infancy of design," said Robert Holdeman of AAI Inc., who is working on plans. But, he said, it will feature brick and stone and be "consistent with the historic nature of Traverse City." See Related Stories: City will chip in for planning of west end development - July 19, 2005 TC may split cost of preliminary work on west end development - July 12, 2005 Traverse City eyes parking deck options - July 6, 2005 City: No exclusive rights to lot - May 17, 2005 TC officials hear pitch on downtown project - April 26, 2005 Downtown TC redevelopment plans will be unveiled - April 25, 2005 Details of downtown development project will be outlined - April 7, 2005 Developer eyes Front Street - April 7, 2005 See Related Editorials: City must take the lead on parking deck plans - July 12, 2005 No need for TC to link development decisions - May 18, 2005 West Front plan cannot be tied to Union Street site - May 3, 2005
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