Both Applicants for Bijou Rejected; Confusion Emerges Over RFP Process

Two proposals to operate the Bijou by the Bay/Con Foster building in Clinch Park have been rejected by Traverse City staff. Both Studio Anatomy LLC and Paper Birch Properties say they weren’t informed of their rejection, instead learning about it only after a city meeting packet was posted online. Traverse Area District Library, one of two applicants for the Carnegie Building on Sixth Street, also didn’t learn it scored lower than Crooked Tree Arts Center for that space until the packet was posted. City Manager Benjamin Marentette says the city “should have communicated more proactively” with applicants and that he’s reviewing the request-for-proposals (RFP) process.

City commissioners voted on January 5 to issue RFPs to find the next tenants for the Bijou and Carnegie buildings. The Bijou has been vacant since the Traverse City Film Festival left at the end of 2024, while Crooked Tree Arts Center’s lease is up in October for Carnegie. Applicants had a tight timeline to submit proposals: The RFP was posted January 13, applicants had to attend a mandatory building tour January 21, and full RFP bids were due February 4. RFP responses required a significant level of detail, ranging from financial records to a proposed facility use and operations plan to a proposal addressing categories like community partnerships, environmental stewardship, organizational capacity, and accessibility and inclusivity.

Crooked Tree and Traverse Area District Library (TADL) both submitted proposals for Carnegie. Crooked Tree aims to continue its decade-long stint in the building offering community art galleries and programming, while TADL is proposing a new city museum and community center. Two applicants also submitted proposals for the Bijou. Studio Anatomy LLC hopes to operate a performing arts venue, while Paper Birch Properties has proposed to open a community wellness center.

Because the Bijou is on city parkland, proposals were originally set to be reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Commission on March 12 before going to city commissioners on March 16. The Carnegie proposals were also slated for the March 16 agenda. However, on March 4, the city announced the process was being delayed since Deputy City Manager Deb Allen – who was leading the RFP review – had experienced a family tragedy. It was later publicly shared that Allen’s husband had passed in an accident and she was taking a leave of absence.

RFP applicants have been in a holding pattern since then. Then, late last week, the city published a Parks and Recreation Commission agenda for the board’s April 2 meeting. The packet includes a memo from Parks and Recreation Director Michelle Hunt – who interviewed the RFP candidates along with Allen and Facilities Manager David Wohlfert – stating that both Bijou proposals had been rejected. Neither proposal met a minimum scoring criteria of 75 points “required for advancement,” Hunt said.

“Both submissions were incomplete and/or did not align with the business model criteria established by the city for this partnership,” she wrote. “As a result, the city will not advance either proposal for city commission consideration.” Both Crooked Tree and TADL did meet the minimum requirements for Carnegie, Hunt said, with TADL scoring 114/120 points and Crooked Tree scoring 120/120. Staff recommended commissioners consider both Carnegie proposals to determine how to proceed.

Kyle Norman of Paper Birch Properties and Brian Chamberlain of Studio Anatomy LLC both say the online packet was how they learned they’d been rejected. “Just reading it in a packet was heartbreaking,” says Chamberlain. “I’m pretty shocked and baffled. We thought we were checking all or most of the boxes of the RFP.” Both candidates expressed confusion about the scoring system used and did not receive copies or explanations of their final scores.

While Kristi Wodek of Crooked Tree couldn’t be immediately reached for comment, Library Director Michele Howard also says the scoring rubric was never explained to TADL. She only learned TADL scored lower than Crooked Tree after being contacted by The Ticker. “I haven’t seen or gotten any communications (from the city),” she says of the scores. “Especially knowing there was a rubric that wasn’t made available to us, that does make the process harder.”

According to City Manager Benjamin Marentette, Hunt told him both Bijou applicants were informed by staff during their RFP interviews “that they didn’t meet the criteria and wouldn’t be advancing.” Hunt could not be reached for comment.

But in emails reviewed by The Ticker, applicants had exchanges with staff after their interviews in which they asked about next steps. Both Allen and Hunt responded with information about upcoming meeting dates and details about the process. Neither Allen nor Hunt referenced the candidates being rejected.

As recently as March 12, Hunt emailed Chamberlain: “Hi Brian, yes. apologies you were supposed to receive a communication (the process) was delayed. We will be picking this back up in April. I’ll be in touch.” That was the last communication Chamberlain received until the meeting packet was published, he says.

The Ticker requested copies of scoring rubrics for both buildings; Marentette shared the Bijou rubrics. They indicate that Paper Birch Properties received 30/110 points, while Studio Anatomy LLC received 59/110 points. Both scored 0 or low scores in several financial categories, including for either having documents still “in development” or not submitted.

Mayor Amy Shamroe says the RFP timeline might have been “too ambitious." She notes it was a new process, one complicated by a staff member experiencing a personal tragedy, and expresses regret over any city communication issues. Marentette also says the city “should have communicated more proactively” with applicants, acknowledging they spent significant time and effort creating “voluminous” proposals for the buildings.

Marentette says he hasn’t personally reviewed the RFP bids but plans to do so now to see if he agrees with the staff team’s assessment. He plans to discuss both the Bijou and Carnegie proposals with city commissioners on April 20. As commissioners have the final say, Shamroe believes that board should consider the proposals “directly” and evaluate whether the city’s expectations for the Bijou are realistic. 

In the meantime, while both Bijou applicants say they’re disappointed, they’re also still open to working with the city. “If they updated or changed some of the criteria, maybe we can work something out,” Chamberlain says. Norman says the Paper Birch team remains “excited about the vision” for the wellness center and will “take this as an opportunity to refine our proposal, continue our work, and be ready for what is next.”