Traverse City commissioners voted unanimously Monday to approve plans for a new mixed-use development at the former TC Millworks property on Woodmere Avenue and to commit $102,256 in funding to support Jubilee House operations through the end of the year.

Mill District
Owner Tim Pulliam of Keen Technical Solutions and his partners have an official city green light to proceed with a new project called the Mill District at 1032 Woodmere Avenue after commissioners approved a planned unit development (PUD) application for the project Monday.

A PUD is a zoning plan tailored to a specific property, typically one that is unique or has several complex issues. The Mill District lot shape is unique – narrow and long – and has three different street frontages with three front yard setbacks and adjacent railroad right-of-way. The PUD process, therefore, is intended to create a site-specific plan that can accommodate those challenges in development.

Project plans call for four new buildings to be constructed near Boardman Lake, including one commercial building and three residential buildings. The southernmost commercial building (pictured, rendering) is envisioned to house an “adventure hub” that will serve as the new long-term home of Brick Wheels, bike and paddleboard rentals, and a potential café/restaurant/brewery space. Pulliam previously said the commercial building will be the first one constructed, with a targeted early 2027 completion date. Phase two will consist of three buildings – three to four stories high – containing multi-family market-rate residential units with underground parking. A new non-motorized trail connection from Carver Street to the Boardman Lake Loop Trail, sidewalk along Carver Street, and the paving of Sheffer Street with public on-street parking are also included in the project plans.

Traverse City planning commissioners voted unanimously in June to recommend approval of the project to city commissioners. After the city commission approved the PUD Monday, Mayor Amy Shamore said that as someone who both lived and worked in the Woodmere area for many years, it was “really exciting to see something going in” at the former TC Millworks site. With owners of nearby properties like Square Deal Country Store also signaling interest in future redevelopment, Pulliam previously said he hopes the Mill District will serve as a replicable model “that works well for the community and is fitting for that neighborhood.”

Jubilee House
Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to commit $102,256 in funding to Grace Episcopal Church to operate day shelter Jubilee House on Washington Street through the end of the year.

Church representatives previously appeared before commissioners in July to first present the request, stating that the average number of daily guest sign-ins has nearly tripled from 38 in 2022 to 102 this year. In the last three years, multiple community organizations have partnered to ensure that a shelter is available 24/7 during cold-weather months for unhoused individuals. Jubilee House expanded its hours to Monday-Friday 10am-5:30pm and hired a part-time outreach specialist to work with guests. Safe Harbor ran a weekend day shelter in addition to its overnight emergency shelter on Wellington Street, and Central United Methodist Church adjusted its breakfast schedule to provide shelter and food between Safe Harbor closing and Jubilee House opening each day.

Those expanded operations – which required Jubilee Housing to increase its staffing, operational support, and resources for guests – have come at a higher budget now estimated at $217,775 annually. Grace Episcopal Church is actively pursuing multiple grants to help meet the demand but said it needs support from the city to get through the rest of 2025. Rector Rev. Jim Perra told commissioners Monday the church is standing “in the breach where others don’t” in providing day shelter services for Traverse City. “We can’t do it without what we’ve asked for,” he said of the funding request. “It is exactly the amount that we need to make it to the end of the year, not more.”

Commissioners agreed that Jubilee House is filling a crucial gap and should be supported – even as they acknowledged the model may not be sustainable long-term, with several concurring with public comments that a permanent, year-round, 24/7 shelter is needed in the region. Commissioner Tim Werner likened the city’s investment in short-term solutions for addressing homelessness as being on a “hamster wheel,” while Commissioner Heather Shaw wondered about a potential compromise that would see the city commit a lower funding amount to Jubilee House in the hope other grants this year could lessen the city’s share of the burden. Shamroe noted the city’s commitment of $102,256 – which she said she viewed as a one-time and not recurring contribution – is structured as a “not to exceed” amount, meaning it could still be reduced if other gifts or grants do come in that help make up the budget difference.

Shamroe also pointed out that Traverse City is not unique in struggling to address its housing and homelessness challenges. “We’re not the only community suffering with this, and not the only community on the hamster wheel,” she said. Shamroe said federal funding cuts and state budget debates are also affecting resources available for local communities. “That’s incredibly important here too, because at the end of the day...Traverse City, just like everybody else, has to figure out where that money is going to come from,” she said.