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March 10, 2006EditorialRevisions turn project into lost opportunityBefore the first brick has been laid, a proposed redevelopment of the former Grand Traverse Auto site along the Boardman River has lost its most compelling elements.What's left simply will not have the impact on downtown that planners had been led to believe. Developer Michael Uzelac of Federated Properties told the city planning commission Wednesday he was dropping all 14 residential units from his proposed three-story project. Planners also approved his intention to drop 55 of 124 parking spaces. Uzelac also intends to add 10,000 square feet to the third floor by jettisoning a host of balconies, top-floor decks and other architectural details that gave the building some appeal. A revised drawing shows that what is left is essentially a big box with windows and a few balconies, not the variety of elevations and facades that got sold to planners back in September. Thankfully, planners told Uzelac he has to return some of the architectural details to the plan. But it simply will not be the same building. City planners have long pushed for more residential development in the downtown as a way to inject new life and vigor into the city. The revisions amount to a missed opportunity to do just that. The reduction in the number of parking spaces was probably inevitable once the city said it would not participate in a parking deck. Just eight days earlier, the city commission had pledged up to $16 million in bonds to build a 500-space deck across the street from the Grand Traverse Auto building and couldn't afford another deck. But stripping the residential units and the eye-catching architecture has robbed the plan of its best elements. The most appealing parts of Traverse City's downtown are the buildings that ooze character and charm. Unfortunately, the Uzelac building won't be one of them.
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