NORTHERN MICHIGAN | General Developments

[deja vu]

Sault Ste. Marie -

Here's an interesting one -

Lake Superior State University broke ground in 2018 on a new building to serve as the hub of its new Center for Freshwater Research & Education (CFRE). The "CFRE" is a rebranding and expansion of the school's existing Aquatic Research Laboratory (ARL). It was originally set to open in 2020, but that has been pushed to Fall 2021 (I suspect, no doubt, due to COVID-19 delays). It is a ~$13.2 million project, and it is located on the east side of Cloverland Electrical Cooperative’s St. Marys River hydroelectric plant. BTW, that historic hydropower plant building is one of the more interesting structures in the entire Great Lakes. I've stood next to it before, but never been inside.

You can read more about the new center and the groundbreaking here -

Groundbreaking On Premier Upper Great Lakes Research And Education Center Is July 20
Lake Superior State University News
July 10, 2018

This article includes a rendering, but I think it is bit out of date -


Source: LSSU

Here are what I think to be the most current renderings. The full name of the facility is the "Theresa and Richard Barch Building, Center for Freshwater Research and Education" -

North


South

Source: LSSU Laker Log: Spring 2019

Here is a photo of construction progress from about three weeks ago -


Source: LinkedIn | Spence Brothers

There is a construction camera, too (here). Here's a screen shot from tonight -


Source: public.earthcam.net

Lastly, there is a Youtube video, from back in 2015. It looks like this was more visionary in nature, before the final design of the new building was worked out. Still interesting to watch though -

• Video Link

[deja vu]

Traverse City -

I've been taking a look at some of the "never-builts" in recent Traverse City memory. For better or for worse, these cancelled projects could have been built, if circumstances were different...

We'll start with a big one - Peninsula Place (326 / 330 State St).

Peninsula Place was first proposed in 2017 by developer Tom McIntyre / 326 Land Development with architect Bill Brunner / Paradigm Design (Grand Rapids). This 100-ft. high (10-story), 64-unit condo project would have been built just east of the existing, 10-story Park Place Hotel. The development team intended that the building “appear to be a four-story building” from State St. with the implementation of a setback. I'm not sure how convincing that argument was to locals concerned about height. After narrowly passing a Planning Commission vote for a special land use permit (SLUP), the proposal went to a public vote and it was rejected by ~ 2/3's of the voters. What followed was a legal process that ultimately failed as well -

The developer, who also built the nearby Washington Place, originally hoped to construct a 100-foot, 64-unit building on the State Street property. But he was stymied when voters rejected the proposal at the polls under Proposal 3. The city charter amendment, enacted in 2016, requires a public vote on any buildings over 60 feet tall. McIntyre sued Traverse City to try and turn over Proposal 3, but lost in Thirteenth Circuit. Rather than appealing the ruling to a higher court, McIntyre decided to cut his losses and move forward with a redesigned building.

~The Ticker

Conceptual Renderings from 2017 (TC Lofts, recently completed, is shown to the left) -


Source: J. Scott Smith Visual Designs, Inc.


Source: J. Scott Smith Visual Designs, Inc.

Elevation -

Source: Traverse City Record-Eagle


The good news? After this plan fell through, the developer went back to the drawing boards and came up with a scaled-back proposal. The new / current plan is a 59-ft. high, five-story, 42-unit luxury condo development named "Peninsula Place at 330 East State Street". The building includes 45 enclosed parking spaces, individual storage units, a rooftop terrace, courtyard, and community room. The massing is apparently meant to mimic the geography of the two peninsulas in the region. Per TC's current ordinances, anything under 60 ft. = no public vote.

In early 2020, the condo unit costs were estimated to range in price from $336,500 to over $1 million. A unique selling point of the project is that the developer intends to form a partnership with the adjacent Park Place Hotel that would allow Peninsula Place condo owners the ability to rent out their units as short-term vacation rentals maintained under the hotel’s management. Per current TC zoning, this is be permitted in the C-4 district which this property would reside within. While this model is unprecedented in the city, this has been done in other tourist destination cities and could become more of a norm in TC's future.

With all necessary approvals & compliance in hand, this resigned project was supposed to break ground in Fall 2020, but with COVID-19, I'm not sure that it has yet. This article was published about 1 week before the s**t hit the fan in Michigan & the U.S.

Redesigned Peninsula Place Project Moves Forward
By Beth Milligan | The Ticker
March 6, 2020

A revised rendering from early 2020, showing the scaled-back proposal -


Source: The Ticker

[deja vu]

Traverse City -

Well this is ironic. Just after I posted about it, and just prior to this week - when preconstruction activities were scheduled to start, a judge has put the $20 million Traverse City FishPass project on hold. A local resident has filed suit, reflecting his and others' concerns that the construction will destroy many existing park trees and therefore there should be a public vote. This suit seems to have alerted the judge to the possibility of inconsistencies between plans that the city previously approved and actual construction plans that might take place. An injunction is being filed to initiate further investigation.

Judge Power Puts Traverse City FishPass Project on Hold
Madison Schlegel | 9 & 10 News
January 17, 2021

Here are some quotes from Judge Powers (what an apt name!) -

“Before I got all stirred up I thought I better go out and look at the thing. Sure enough, there’s x’s painted on pretty much all the trees along the south side of the river running from the Union Street dam to the Union Street bridge.”

“What other things have I been told about this project and the ten year duration and commitments after the ten year- or lack of commitment after 10 years that weren’t altogether right?”

“There is to be no earth moving, no tree cutting, no construction on this project pending further order of the court.”

We'll watch and see where this goes...

[deja vu]

Bellaire -

Going to take a little detour here -

Bellaire, MI (population 1,015) is the County seat of Antrim County, and it is located in Northern Michigan - Northeast of Traverse City. This small village recently unveiled a creative solution to the indoor-dining dilemma. Dubbed the "Kegger Campground" - it is constructed of roughly 750 beer kegs that were supplied by Short's Brewing Company in the parking lot across from their Bellaire Pub. The construction provides nine open-air "campsites" - complete with a fire ring and seating. It opened two weeks ago, with plans to operate all winter -

‘Kegger Campground’ debuts in Northern Michigan town with help from Short’s Brewing
Emily Bingham | MLive
January 04, 2021

Source: Facebook | Short's Brewing Company (Bellaire Pub)


Source: Facebook | Short's Brewing Company (Bellaire Pub)


Source: Facebook | Short's Brewing Company (Bellaire Pub)


Source: MLive | John Hiner

[deja vu]

Curtis -

OK, another detour, this time to Curtis, MI - a small, eastern UP fishing resort village, nestled in-between Manistique Lake and South Manistique Lake. It is about an hour's drive northwest of the big 'ol bridge.

For a town this tiny, they have a pretty interesting project going right now - a new Performing Arts Center at the Erickson Center for the Arts. The history of the site & the center is pretty neat. The property currently provides community space and nature trails, and for a place this small and a budget this tight ($1.65 million), the plans for the new performing arts center look pretty good. $1 million of that construction cost was donated by the Nancy A. & Richard P. Erickson Foundation.


















Source: ECA / Blomquist Architects

Per the Center's website,

The new facility will house a 160 seat theater with a large permanent stage and a graduated floor for better sight lines to the stage. In addition, it will provide a welcoming lobby and backstage dressing rooms for the performers, features not present in the current facility.

The designer - Blomquist Architects - is "local" - based in Iron Mountain (about 2.5 hours further west). It looks like they do some cool work, most of it local to Iron Mountain, but also stretching into Wisconsin & Illinois. Gundlach Champion Inc. is the contractor leading construction. It is on track to open in late Spring.

Performing arts center construction nears completion
The Mining Journal
January 9, 2021

Some construction photos are included with this article - I enlarged them a bit, even though they were quite blurry and small to begin with -




Source: The Mining Journal | Courtesy ECA

I'll admit it - I've never heard of Curtis, and the closest I've ever been is Newberry - about 20 miles northeast, population 1,368. If this is you too, just watch this gem of a video, below, to become a more informed individual. The current Erickson Center for the Arts gets a feature at around 23:15 -

"It Won't Hurt Us To Go To Curtis"


• Video Link

[joemits]

The New U.P health system.
I can try and post some MQT developments.

[joemits]

Two Marquette place has started construction. Plans call for ground floor retail/Dining with apartments on upper floors.


Rendering below courtesy of Barry Polzin Architects. Two Marquette place is bottom right.

[joemits]

Originally Posted by deja vu

Interesting. 137.14 ft. estimated - via Emporis. So maybe that does take second

Superior Dome is 143 feet.

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by joemits

I can try and post some MQT developments.

Please do and thanks for these updates!

Do you know what year(s) One Marquette Place and Fairfield Inn & Suites were completed? I know they are recent, but wanted to try and pin down the completion date(s) (for the project rundown).

[deja vu]

Leland -

Leland residents approved a bond in 2018 for district-wide renovations and improvements at Leland Public School. When complete, the bond work - underway right now and totaling $24.6 million - will feature a new Elementary addition with a newly renovated JR / SR High School. A reconfigured main entrance, secure vestibule, administrative space, new music room, expanded 2nd floor for increased classroom capacity, competition gymnasium, and locker rooms are also included. That's a pretty impressive package for $25 million, and a huge improvement for the district, which effectively houses its entire K-12 student population in one large complex (a common occurrence in smaller districts). Tower Pinkster is the architect and Miller Davis is the CM.

Addition Construction Progress -

Source: LinkedIn | Miller Davis

Addition Rendering -

Source: Tower Pinkster

[joemits]

Originally Posted by deja vu

Please do and thanks for these updates!

Do you know what year(s) One Marquette Place and Fairfield Inn & Suites were completed? I know they are recent, but wanted to try and pin down the completion date(s) (for the project rundown).

One Marquette place opened in summer 2019. Fairfield Inn and Suites is still under construction with , I believe a spring summer opening planned. I will take a pic next time I'm down there. It turned out nice.

[joemits]

This little sandstone gem is getting a redo. Construction has started on the Marquette Customs House Condominiums. I think plans call for three units inside the original structure and an additional unit built out from the north face of the building.



https://www.mqtcustomshouse.com/

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by joemits

One Marquette place opened in summer 2019. Fairfield Inn and Suites is still under construction with , I believe a spring summer opening planned. I will take a pic next time I'm down there. It turned out nice.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by joemits

This little sandstone gem is getting a redo. Construction has started on the Marquette Customs House Condominiums. I think plans call for three units inside the original structure and an additional unit built out from the north face of the building.



https://www.mqtcustomshouse.com/

That's a cool building - built in 1867. Floor plans of the four units can be found here.

[deja vu]

Traverse City -

Here are three more substantial cancelled projects from Traverse City in the past five years (and a current update on where things are at with each site today) -

1. Grandview Place

Original plans in 2016 - 2017 called for 48 condos and almost 36,000 SF of ground floor commercial space, including an indoor market intended for dozens of vendors ($35.5 million investment). This would have been built at 201, 211, and 221 W. Grandview Parkway, next to the Hotel Indigo. Plans fell through and the developer - Patti Mercer / Mercer Group LLC - put all three lots up for auction in early 2020, but they did not sell. The same developer still owns the land today and now has plans for a four-story, 126-room hotel.

2017 Rendering of the cancelled Grandview Place Condo / Mixed-Use Project -

Source: Traverse City Record-Eagle

2. Warehouse Flats

Original plans in 2016 called for a 150-unit apartment building with 250 parking spaces and 10,000 square feet of commercial space. But the developer, Thom Darga / Dargaworks Inc. could not get through all of the permitting requirements / local politics, and, after a frustrated redesign attempt, pulled the plug near the end of 2017. The site was then purchased by Kalamazoo-based Brian Mullally / Innovo Development Group, which went on to design & build the recently-completed Breakwater Apartments (posted about earlier).

Warehouse Flats Conceptual Rendering from 2016 -

Source: The Ticker

3. Pine Street Development One / River West

Coming to light around 2015, this massive proposal (relatively speaking) would have resulted in two 9-story buildings, built at the Southwest corner of W. Front & Pine Streets. Proposed by local developer Mansfield Land Use Consultants, it would have included 162 apartments and 25,000 square feet of retail space. This ambitious development was ultimately shut down by residents and local officials opposed to buildings with this much height & density in the city. I found one quote particularly ironic - a resident in the adjacent, 9-story Riverview Terrace criticizing the 9-story development for being too tall

Today, this is the site of the u/c 4Front Credit Union HQ building and a scaled back proposal - 309 W. Front St. (both posted about previously).

2015 Renderings -



Source: Detroit Free Press

[joemits]

Those were substantial projects in TC for sure. It's crazy how nimby'ism can take over tho. It seems in these smaller cites, when too much booming is going on at once the shut it down mentality takes hold. The whole anti height thing drives me crazy, nothing looks worse than a squat, single story building. Anyway, Marquette recently updated their downtown zoning to allow building heights to go from 60 ft to 74 with consideration for higher if built on top parking and or higher density living spaces. The planning commission rightfully noted that downtown has buildings over 70 feet already and are generally thought as people's most liked buildings!

[joemits]

Marquette Fairfield Inn and Suites construction update:

[joemits]

The Marquette city commission recently approved a land sale to Home Renewal System to build townhouses on a southern portion of Founders landing. Home Renewal is the same company that brought the dilapidated Holly Cross Orphanage into the Grandview apartments. These homes will be built just north of the newly constructed Fairfield Inn and Suites. Ground breaking expected in spring 2021.

[deja vu]

Thanks for the Marquette updates. Keep 'em coming!

Manistee -

A new workforce housing development - called River Water Development - is being proposed for several lots close to the downtown riverfront. It looks like this first came on the public radar in early November, 2020. The developer is Oceana County Housing Commission (OCHC) Manistee Limited Dividend Housing Association (LDHA) LP. That's a lot of word vomit that I don't really understand the legalities of. But apparently, OCHC serves Oceana, Mason, and Lake Counties, as well as "the West Michigan region" and they have a non-profit corporation that engages in development like this. I suppose their reach extends to Manistee County as well. The developer is partnering with local architect Kendra C. Thompson, Pontiac-based West Construction Services, and Flint-based property manager Piper Realty Co.

The proposal includes 49 new housing units in total. 3 units would be located in two repurposed properties at 451 & 453 River St. (former Jones building, to be renamed "The Dairy"). The 46 remaining units would be built in a new, 4-story building at 443 Water St., just south of the two repurposed buildings (former Amor Sign Studio site, to be called "The Livery"). According to the "Executive Summary", found in the January 05, 2021 Manistee City Council Meeting Agenda, "the design concept for this proposed multifamily development is to provide an upscale living environment at very modest rental rates." That translates into units ranging in monthly rent from $257 to $1,030. 24 of the units would be for 55+ residents. The project team will seek MSHDA Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, as well as take advantage of a recently-approved PILOT program with the city. They are banking on the fact the the city has expressed a need for more affordable housing and senior housing. The properties are "Redevelopment Ready Communities" sites.

"The Livery" - Elevation -


"The Livery" - Plans (very low-resolution in the original file) -


"The Dairy" - Elevation -


"The Dairy" - Plans (again, bad resolution in the original file) -


~~~

Hillcrest Village Apartments broke ground in Fall of 2020. This mixed-income / workforce housing development will consist of 45 units across four buildings on the site formerly occupied by Washington Elementary School. The development team is Portage-based Hollander Development Corp. and the more locally-based Little River Real Estate Management (Little River Holdings, LLC). It's a strategic move for the tribe, partnering with experienced developers as the begin to build their own portfolio and reputation for development projects. The project received necessary approvals in early 2019, but it's construction start was delayed due to COVID-19. It received over $1 million in MSHDA tax credits and PILOT approval (more info).

An updated rendering from December 2019 -

Source: Hollander Development | Hooker DeJong

Earlier Renderings -


Site Plan -

Source: LRD, LLC

~~~

Momentum is building for enthusiasts that want to see a disc golf course built at Lighthouse Park. The proposed plan and 18-hole layout was presented to City Council by the Parks Commission on January 12. It seems like it was well-received, possibly because it would not cost much for the city to implement and maintain it. It will be on the agenda for formal approval at an upcoming City Council meeting -

The proposed 18-hole course layout -

Source: Facebook | Bring Disc Golf to Manistee

[deja vu]

Duluth -

While it's being constructed at VARD and will debut in Duluth, this new Viking Cruise Ship - Viking Octantis - will have an 8-day travel itinerary that will include Houghton and Mackinac Island, along with Thunder Bay Canada, the Apostle Islands, and Milwaukee. It will also sail voyages in Antarctica. The under-construction vessel is scheduled to debut in 2022, and it was floated out in late 2020. For a Great Lakes cruise vessel, it is quite large - 378-guest rooms and an in-ship marina for excursions. The vessel will be part of a unique program that allows for resident scientists to conduct research onboard the ship. It will be a great boon for local tourism when it debuts. There is also a sister vessel, identical in scope, called the Viking Polaris, which will debut in later 2022. I thought the photos & scope of this thing were cool enough to mention here - just picture this thing docked in Houghton or Mackinac Island -

Visit Duluth unveils first look at cruise vessels
The Viking cruise ship Octantis is ticketed to debut and later arrive in Duluth in 2022.
Brady Slater | Duluth News Tribune
January 8th 2021

Visit Duluth celebrated a milestone for a Great Lakes cruise line Friday, when it issued a first look at one of the under-construction vessels already ticketed to dock in Duluth. The Viking Octantis was shown in three images. The 378-guest ship was "floated out" in late 2020, highlighting the first time the ship met water...

Source: Duluth News Tribune (Contributed)

[deja vu]

Acme Township -

Acme Township is located just Northeast of Traverse City, on East Grand Traverse Bay. It is an area primed for growth. Developers has been working on plans to revitalize & repurpose the former KMart site - off of US-31. The developer is Bloomfield Hills-based Lormax Stern Development Company - owner of Petoskey's Bay Mall and many other strip-mall type developments throughout Michigan Their specialty seems to be reviving struggling power centers and the like with upgrades and new anchor tenants. They are working with Southfield-based Rogvoy Architects. The plans have evolved several times since the developer's 2019 purchase of the property. Updated plans were reviewed with the township in December 2020. Lormax Stern is seeking township zoning approval of a Planned Development (PD) for a multi-phased project that would accomplish the following:

• Convert the entire existing big box into climate-controlled indoor storage (~ 86,000 SF)
• Develop a new park with connections to the existing TART Trail
• Construct five townhome buildings, 6 units each, of workforce housing in partnership with HomeStretch
• Build two new commercial out buildings, 11,500 SF total

The township seems in favor of the plan, but asked for more detail and a follow-up meeting (likely February 8, 2020), before scheduling a public hearing on the PD (likely in March). The township also noted that the adjacent Tom's Food Market building, which closed in Spring 2019, is being marketed for sale for redevelopment as well.

Updated Plans Proposed For Acme Kmart Site
Beth Milligan | The Ticker
January 6, 2021

Site Plan (color added) -


The Former KMart Building -


Exterior Renderings -




A sample indoor storage conversion by the Developer -


Commercial Out Buildings -




Townhomes -

Source: Acme Township | Lormax Stern


Traverse City -

City Commissioners voted a few weeks ago to support Traverse City Light & Power's application for an $18 million loan from the USDA. If the utility gets the money, it will be allocated towards expanding its existing fiber optic network - which is currently focused just in downtown and a few neighborhoods - throughout its entire coverage area (roughly 13,000 customers). Why this matters? It would afford the utility the capacity to then implement a "smart grid" that would be used to monitor power consumption, distribution, and outages. And, if individual homeowners agreed, it would also allow the utility the ability to remotely reduce their homes' AC on peak energy days, in exchange for lower energy rates (not sure I would feel about that) -

Traverse City leaders back USDA loan application
Jordan Travis | Traverse City Record-Eagle
January 5, 2021