The Village at Grand Traverse Commons: Rehabilitating historic buildings and creating mixed-use pedestrian-friendly neighborhood

First known as the Northern Michigan Asylum, Traverse City's State Hospital was one the city's largest employers back at the turn-of-the-century. During its 100 years of service, an estimated 50,000 patients have lived on its premises.

By: Raymond Minervini II, member of The Minervini Group LLC

What would you do if you could buy an old asylum for one dollar? Would you knock the old hospital buildings down or try to re-use them? Even if you did re-use them, do you think anyone would want to live and work there?

For Ray Minervini, my father and managing member of The Minervini Group, "adaptive re-use" of the former Traverse City State Hospital (TCSH) seemed like a logical idea in 2000. The site was in a beautiful park with dozens of century-old buildings right in Traverse City, and had great historic and cultural value to the community. Granted, the one dollar price tag obligated the buyer to invest millions to get the project off the ground, but Ray and the rest of his ad hoc redevelopment team were confident enough that it could be feasible. Still, many people thought we were crazy.

A cooridor in the Old State Hospital prior to renovation.

"They don't make historic buildings anymore"

For starters, my dad loves old buildings. There were about 25 remaining buildings of former TCSH, dominated by the 388,000 square foot original hospital building known as Building 50. In total, there were about 700,000 square feet of historic and mostly abandoned structures awaiting redevelopment on 61 acres of publicly held land. The setting itself is quite special, dominated by scores of species of mature trees and broad historic lawns, surrounded by over 300 acres of wooded hills, upland meadows, wetland fields and trout streams. Clearly, there was, and is, a lot for my dad to love here.

Unfortunately, Ray had seen first hand through the 1990s how the historic buildings of the former TCSH, now called the Grand Traverse Commons, were slowly being demolished by neglect. As a general contractor and member of the grassroots Committee to Preserve Building 50, and then as a board member of the property caretakers, the Grand Traverse Commons Redevelopment Corporation, he heard a lot of talk about redevelopment and preservation, but saw no action. Various factions argued about the high cost of preservation, the need for land to expand the nearby medical center campus, the stigma of an old asylum, the "functional obsolescence" of buildings with small rooms and massive masonry walls, and the daunting scale of the entire site. To make it more challenging, Ray had never done a single mixed-use redevelopment project, and no one in the country had ever taken on a former asylum project like this. In spite of all that, he was compelled to do something, and in 2000, he began exploring the redevelopment of the remaining parcels for the former TCSH.

A renovated cooridor in Building 50.

Leveling the playing field with redevelopment incentives

While the end value can be significant, it costs a lot of money to rehabilitate historic, contaminated buildings. The core of the Commons site is dominated by blighted, abandoned structures, which created State-level environmental clean-up issues. Fortunately, Michigan has been a national pioneer for creating programs to clean-up brownfield sites and make them ready for redevelopment. The State and the local community have a vested interest in seeing blighted, abandoned and under-used property redeveloped and put back on the tax rolls.

Because of the lead based paint, asbestos, and other hazardous substances left behind and because of the opportunities for creating jobs and additional tax base within our redevelopment, The Village project has received some essential incentives to make it feasible. The first incentive in place was the 15 year Michigan Renaissance Zone, which abates most property taxes for businesses and individuals, eliminates state income tax for residents in the zone, and eliminates the Single Business Tax for businesses in the zone.

A second redevelopment incentive was the establishment of a Tax Increment Financing area that will apply some captured tax revenues toward extraordinary costs of environmental clean up and redevelopment.

A third incentive The Village project has received is a Clean Michigan Initiative Department of Environmental Quality cleanup grant, administered through Grand Traverse County. Two $1 million grants have been awarded to this massive project. This redevelopment incentive was the single biggest factor to get our project off the ground. It ultimately led to us securing construction financing from a local banking consortium.

All of these incentives make it possible for brownfield projects like The Village to compete with far less costly "green field" projects- the projects at suburban fringes that create sprawl. When one considers that The Village will stimulate some $200 million in private redevelopment investment over the next decade, state and local governments will receive a massive windfall of tax dollars for their assistance with the project. For taxpayers, these types of brownfield programs are a very smart investment in the core community.

An alternative to sprawl: in-fill redevelopment

Now that we had some financial mechanisms in place, we had to market to the public the benefits of a home or business in The Village. Many people were drawn to the beauty of this place, but we realized that the old asylum stigma and the historic constraints of rehabilitation could be barriers to success. We believed one of the more powerful advantages of the site was its location in Traverse City.

Many people are increasingly aware of the side effects of sprawling suburban development. Whether you live in the metro Detroit area or the Grand Traverse region, you've spent some time in traffic, following a line of brake lights, driving by big box stores that only a few years before were open green fields.

While the availability of affordable land has pushed many home-buyers and businesses to locate at the urban fringe and beyond, the true costs of this type of development are usually borne by the entire region. Sewer, water and road infrastructure must be extended at great cost, children must travel farther to school, people are farther from core city jobs, services and amenities, and everyone becomes more dependent on driving in cars. In a vicious circle of sprawl, all of these extra vehicle trips and the heavy road traffic usually result in even more development at the fringes.

The Village is in the center of a giant park in Traverse City. Luckily for us, the Grand Traverse area has recently had a lively discussion about regional growth, especially the need for "smart growth." The public has been more aware that since development is inevitable, we should work to do it in the best possible forms in the best possible places. While the Commons as a whole is more park than urban neighborhood, The Village's close proximity to the urban core is a key asset. When we live and work in a more urban setting, our opportunities for healthy exercise and community interaction increase.

Before redevelopment the residential units had to be stripped down to the studs.

A walkable neighborhood, a growing community

In contrast with typical sub-divisions, Traverse City's historic neighborhoods have the characteristics we are striving for as redevelopers. The human-scale of the buildings; the relationship of the buildings to the street; the density of buildings and the proximity to Downtown are very desirable qualities to many people as well. Its what helps make those neighborhoods "walkable."

The former TCSH was built like a small city that specialized in patient care. It was built before automobiles, on the human scale, and people who lived or worked here walked from place to place. Maybe you grew up in a neighborhood where you could walk to the store for a carton of milk, or where you could walk to school. That should not simply be a quaint memory, but a very natural and beneficial quality for a neighborhood. Unfortunately, most modern housing development is sprawling single-use residential, making people reliant on the automobile.

We have been working to counter that pattern in The Village by including many everyday uses in our neighborhood. In addition to the 17 residential units now occupied and the 30 more under construction, we have a fine restaurant (Trattoria Stella), an eclectic coffee shop and café (Another Cuppa Joe), an art gallery (Gallery Fifty), a popular yoga studio (Yoga for Health), plus dozens of other small businesses providing health and business services. Our plans for the months ahead include the opening of the "Mercato" interior marketplace, which will include more specialty retail and personal services in the remarkable brick-walled setting of the 120-year-old main building. In the months ahead we hope to create an active public art program on the site. By meeting many of the mercantile, service and cultural needs of residents and workers on site, we will further reduce automobile trips on area roads.

The Village is blessed with a truly remarkable park-like setting within walking distance to Grand Traverse Bay, downtown Traverse City and several city neighborhoods. The TMG vision for redevelopment relies on this setting and its relationship to the core community for creating a walkable neighborhood- not simply an island unto itself. A system of walkways is being improved and expanded to interconnect the buildings of The Village and also integrate with the surrounding neighborhoods. It is our hope to have a link to the TART recreation trail, as well as full integration with BATA bus service, thus making it easier for people to go to and from farther points in town without using their auto.

By designing and modifying The Village site around the pedestrian instead of the automobile, we make it possible for people to walk, bike or bus where they want to go. Besides the obvious health benefits for the pedestrian, the community at large benefits from fewer vehicle trips being made and thus, fewer cars on the road. Most importantly, we create opportunities for human interaction, the foundation for a healthy and vibrant community.

After redevelopment, the residential units at The Village, bare little resemblance to the former institution.

The end of the beginning

We are still fairly early in the redevelopment of The Village at Grand Traverse Commons. In fact we have only rehabilitated about 15% of the building stock. Like any development, risk is a major business consideration, and nothing is a sure thing. But it seems that home-buyers and business owners of many stripes are understanding why this can be a great neighborhood in which to live, work and play. Its past and future success depends on many factors: brownfield incentives, a favorable economy, and continued interest from the public.

Clearly, people are the most important factor for the Commons. Without the faith and vision of the "Village Founders" who stepped up to purchase in the early phases of this unique project, none of this would have come to life. We as redevelopers have simply stretched out the canvas that is The Village-it is the people who live and work here who are painting the future of their neighborhood. We welcome everyone to come see what is taking shape here, and maybe become part of the composition.

Raymond Minervini II is part of the local team of builders who are commited to renovating the Grand Traverse Commons Area.

To learn more about The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, click to www.thevillagetc.com.