Two New Upscale Developments Head to Downtown Traverse City

Two new upscale residential developments in the works will bring 30 new residences to downtown Traverse City.

The first, located at the northeast corner of Washington and Cass (behind City Centre Plaza), will be the four-story, 18-unit Washington Place. The development, led by Passageways Travel’s Tom and Sheila McIntyre, will have retail and office space on the ground floor. They hope to start construction this fall.

“It’s going to be our primary residence,” says Sheila McIntyre. With their kids grown, the couple wants to be able to walk downtown to the shops, restaurants and the State Theatre.

Realtors from Real Estate One and Coldwell Banker Schmidt are representing Washington Place; ten units are already spoken for.

The units will range between $180,000 to $670,000, each with 800-2,000 square feet of living space. The higher-priced units will include an indoor parking space.

The McIntyres already own one of the two parking lots now occupying the lot, and have a purchase option for the other from the City of Traverse City.

Just two blocks west on State Street past the post office, developers Tim Burden and Mike Wills are partnering to create Uptown. The $6 million project will overlook the Boardman River and Hannah Park across the water.

“I’ve really been interested in this property for fifteen years and things have just recently come together,” says Burden.

The duo has been working with city, county and brownfield development officials on the project; the site was an edge-of-town dumpsite decades ago, leaving contamination underground.

Burden also developed River’s Edge apartments and Midtown condominiums further upstream on the Boardman. Both projects utilized brownfield redevelopment funds.

Uptown will be brick, townhouse style; each unit will feature three bedrooms and a two-car garage. Prices will range between $500,000 to $700,000.

Burden hopes to have some units sold and occupied by spring 2014, with the entire project finished and occupied the following year.