07/02/2006

Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
Raymond Minervini II, left, and his father Ray Minervini stand in a hallway under construction in Building 50 of The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, the former Traverse City State Hospital. Below, two of the Victorian-Italianate spires of Building 50 are visable through a hallway window.

The Village takes shape, slowly

Revitalization of Commons is a long-term project

By Bill O'Brien

bobrien@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Developer Ray Minervini's four-year venture to revive the core of the former state hospital grounds continues to gain momentum through his methodical, one-section-at-a-time approach.

Businesses keep moving in, and residential condos are snapped up a soon as they're available.

"People are pretty excited about what we're doing here," he said.

Minervini's vision for The Village development at the Grand Traverse Commons is a sharp departure from the original plans for property. In the 1980s and '90s it was mulled as a massive senior housing and retirement community, but would-be developers never launched that plan.

Minervini went from serving on the Commons board to creating a mixed-use, new urbanist-style plan for Building 50 and the surrounding properties. He preserved its century-old Kirkbride architectural style — named after the 19th century Pennsylvania physician who designed asylums across the country. The idea was embraced by local preservationists — and eventually by the Commons board — as the best way to save the deteriorating structure.

"We didn't have a plan for something like this. They made us think about multi-use and they made us think about how to open up the building," said long-time Commons board member Dan Tholen, a statistical consultant with an office in Building 50.

"He gave us a plan and he's followed it," Tholen said. "It's gone far better than I anticipated."

The project's first phase included a 45,000-square foot section of Building 50 known as Southview, and another 25,000-square feet in Cottage 20. Southview features three floors of commercial space and two floors of residential units, while the cottage has two floors of each. The area is completely sold or leased, Minervini said.

The unique commerce mix includes a restaurant, coffee shop, engineering firm, a weekly newspaper, Minervini's development and construction companies and several professionals offices. Close to 300 workers are employed there so far, the Minervinis estimate.

Because of financial incentives with the site's brownfield designation and historic tax credits, Minervini works through a myriad of oversight bodies, including the city, Garfield Township, county and state.

"It's a very complex project," Minervini said. "We serve many masters."

The site also is part of a state tax-free Renaissance zone that waives business and property taxes for companies, while residents who live there pay no state income taxes.

Current work includes another 100,000-square feet of Building 50 that features a $15 million "Mercato," or marketplace phase. The idea is to create a series of specialty retailers to line an interior walkway that connects the south end of the building to the businesses in the Village Center part to the north.

It will include two floors of commercial development and three floors of residential, with occupancy starting later this year.

But even with all that's been done so far, Minervini still faces a daunting task: completing Building 50's massive 400,000 square-foot footprint and other buildings. He estimates it could take up to a dozen years and $300 million to finish — but vows to keep plugging away.

"One bite at a time — that's really the only way you can do it," Minervini said.

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