Beth Milligan

Traverse City commissioners are set to discuss two tenant proposals for the city-owned Carnegie Building on Sixth Street from Crooked Tree Arts Center and Traverse Area District Library tonight (Monday). However, a “tremendous amount of feedback” has prompted city and library staff to propose a new approach: co-locating the two entities in the building, according to City Manager Benjamin Marentette. Crooked Tree staff, meanwhile, have expressed significant concerns about the proposal and are asking commissioners to continue the request-for-proposals (RFP) process as designed.

South Airport Road reopened to traffic Monday afternoon following a successful review by state bridge inspectors and a team of engineers from the Grand Traverse County Road Commission (GTCRC). The road commission also announced that a traffic light will be installed on Cass Road on the east side of Hartman Road Tuesday morning at 5am. Another light is planned on Hartman/US-31 but will take more time to design and install.

Peninsula Township will start boardwalk construction in the hemlock wing of Pelizzari Natural Area this week, with completion planned for early June.

At a marathon four-hour meeting Monday, Traverse City commissioners approved applying to the state for nearly $27 million in funding to tackle a variety of sewer system and plant repairs over the next five years. Commissioners also directed staff to negotiate with both Crooked Tree Arts Center and Traverse Area District Library to see if a joint occupancy agreement can be reached for the Carnegie Building and agreed to hire a firm instead of an individual to replace outgoing City Attorney Lauran Trible-Laucht for the near future, among other items.

Grand Traverse County Clerk Bonnie Scheele has announced her retirement effective June 19.

Traverse City planning commissioners voted 8-1 Tuesday to approve a new Tommy’s Express Car Wash to go in at the corner of East Front Street and Garfield Avenue on the Cuppa Joe and former Burger King properties. Multiple commissioners said they were “reluctantly” approving the plans since car washes are an allowed use by right, leaving the board with little recourse to reject the proposal. Planning commissioners are now expediting an update to zoning rules that would require a special land use permit for car washes and gas stations going forward, giving the city more say over such projects in the future.

Tom’s Food Market is planning a significant redevelopment of its Fourteenth Street property, aiming to create a “market village” anchored by the grocery store with four new tenants in the former Rite Aid space and two new outlot buildings with multiple restaurant and/or retail tenants. The Ticker has an exclusive first look at the company’s plans, plus other business news from around the region.

Food trucks can now operate in Garfield Township after trustees Tuesday approved a zoning update allowing them, including a new licensing process. Trustees also approved contracts for the construction of a new universally accessible trail loop at the Grand Traverse Commons Natural Area and design/engineering for a planned new $11 million water tank on McRae Hill Road. Trustees also heard about a proposed small-scale data center on Cass Road.

New owners mean new plans for the former Trains & Things Hobbies building at 210 East Front Street. After more than a decade at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, Monica and Giorgio Lo Greco are moving their Italian restaurant PepeNero to the ground floor of the downtown building in 2027. Building owners Tricia and Dean Adams of Bay Area Contracting are hard at work on renovations, with plans to also build two upper-floor condos with a rooftop patio and a balcony overlooking Front Street - a rare amenity in that corridor.

A group of Traverse City investors – led by Adam Miller, Chad Miller, Jason Granger, and Nathan Kessler – have an agreement to purchase the landmark hotel on State Street from Regency Midwest. The sale is expected to close this fall, with Traverse City commissioners approving the transfer of the hotel’s liquor licenses to the newly formed Park Place Hospitality LLC Monday. The group is hiring AHC Hospitality – formerly the Amway Hotel Corporation, which operates the iconic Amway Grand Plaza and JW Marriott hotels in Grand Rapids – to operate the property.