Two Proposals Emerge for City West End Property

A request-for-proposals (RFP) to redevelop six city-owned parcels on State and Pine streets on the west side of downtown has garnered two major development offers. Traverse City commissioners will discuss the bids at their August 10 study session, with both proposals addressing desired components like public parking, rental housing, public restrooms, and a TC Police Department substation.

Commissioners voted in April to issue an RFP to find a potential developer for the site. The six parcels were assembled by the city over several years at a cost of $7.6 million with the goal of building a third public downtown parking deck. The Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) went far into the design process for a 534-space deck on State Street, planned to be part of a larger mixed-use development that would also include retail space and workforce housing.

That project was estimated to cost over $67 million. However, the DDA scrapped the project in 2025 from a proposed new tax increment finance (TIF) plan over concerns it lacked community support. Some board members resisted abandoning the project, saying the DDA has been promising for years to make up parking spaces eliminated elsewhere. Developer John Socks was among the business owners caught off guard by the deck’s termination and proposed a public-partnership to the city in December to revive the project.

City Manager Benjamin Marentette encouraged commissioners to open up the process and seek multiple development proposals “rather than solely negotiating with one party who approached us first.”

Marentette tells The Ticker that while three companies submitted proposals, only two met the RFP criteria. The city outlined several desired components it wished to see in a scoring rubric, including public parking, income-targeted housing, public restrooms, a TCPD substation, a prohibition on short-term rentals, and alignment with the city’s strategic action plan and building electrification policy.

Socks submitted a proposal under his company ShoreNorth Development in partnership with Great Lakes Capital, another player in downtown development. The companies propose a “single, master-planned, mixed-use development that brings every public benefit identified in the city’s RFP and more into one coordinated project,” which would be “financed through a public-private partnership and delivered privately.” Plans include a 534-space parking structure with the first two floors available for daily public use and the remaining floors leased to residents and businesses. Two new residential buildings would have ground-floor retail spaces, a TCPD substation, public restrooms, and 90 new residential units.

Those units would include 68 income-deed restricted units rented to households earning under 100 percent of the area median income (AMI), with an affordability period of 40 years. The remaining 22 market-rate units would be geared toward households at 120 percent AMI. ShoreNorth is also proposing to convert up to 60 units in its neighboring Loop development, which is under construction, from short-term rentals to deed-restricted workforce housing.

“While The Loop is outside the boundaries of the RFP parcels, including it creates an opportunity to extend the city’s housing goals beyond the immediate project site without requiring the city to assemble additional land or take on additional development risk,” the proposal states. Both new residential buildings will be fully electrified, with the proposal outlining different options for the parking deck due to a fully electrified snowmelt system costing significantly more than a standard boiler to operate. The city has said it could waive its electrification policy in certain scenarios if needed for project viability.

The second proposal comes from Endeavour Traverse City Partners and includes partnerships with HomeStretch, Spence Brothers, and Kuhn Rogers. “We believe the West End site represents one of the most significant development opportunities currently available in northern Michigan and a unique opportunity to advance multiple city priorities through a single, coordinated development effort,” the team wrote.

Project plans include a 365-space parking deck – which would meet the city’s electrification’s goals, the proposal states – and a mixed-use development with 5,500 square feet of commercial retail space, a TCPD substation, public restrooms, and 56 units of mixed-income housing. The goal is to accommodate a blended average of 80-120 percent AMI across the units. A separate building would offer four market-rate townhomes with detached garages for sale.

One significant aspect of Endeavour’s bid is that it also proposes to redevelop Lot O, the city-owned lot at the corner of State and Cass streets. One of the team’s partners, HomeStretch, had a deal with the city to acquire that lot with plans to build a mixed-use development with 44 income-restricted apartments and a new ground-floor market. However, the nonprofit missed multiple deadlines to secure its project funding, with commissioners opting in January to put the plans on hold. 

Endeavour proposes to revive plans for a 44-unit building on Lot O with ground-floor retail, with income-based units averaging 65 percent AMI. “This approach leverages HomeStretch’s substantial pre-development investments and existing approvals for Lot O,” the proposal states. “Rather than simply responding to the RFP as issued, our team sought to identify opportunities to maximize public benefit, accelerate implementation, expand workforce housing delivery, and create a project that provides greater long-term community value.”

Both proposals consider multiple deal structures depending on if the city chooses to retain or sell its land. ShoreNorth seeks to have the city convey the six parcels at nominal cost in exchange for long-term public benefits including “permanent public infrastructure, restricted housing, and long-term tax base.” But a combination of purchase price, leases, taxes, or other private-public arrangements are possible, the team said. Endeavour offered standalone pricing for some components – $450,000 for Lot O, as previously agreed to for HomeStretch, and $1 million for the parking deck site if owned by the developers – but also was open to a structure that retains city ownership.

Commissioners will consider the proposals with project consultant Rob Bacigalupi of Mission North on August 10. Marentette says he plans to “strongly advise” commissioners to keep Lot O separate from the West End discussions at that meeting. Since that property wasn’t included in the RFP, he believes it shouldn’t be part of the negotiation process and should go through a separate RFP if the board desires to keep pursuing Lot O redevelopment.

While commissioners won’t take formal action at the meeting because it’s a study session, they could indicate to staff if they have a preferred proposal. Staff could then enter a due diligence period and bring back a contract for a vote, Marentette says.