Traverse City commissioners voted unanimously Monday to enter contract negotiations with Studio Anatomy LLC to operate a performing arts venue in the Bijou by the Bay/Con Foster building in Clinch Park. The board additionally voted to extend Crooked Tree Arts Center’s lease in the Carnegie Building through October 2027 while tenant discussions continue for that space.

Commissioners Monday also approved construction contracts for a new farmers market pavilion, approved a request-for-proposals (RFP) process to find a new law firm for the city, authorized a city match for a safe streets grant project, and supported pursuing two city seats on the Northwest Regional Airport Authority board.

Bijou/Con Foster
After sitting vacant for nearly 18 months, the Bijou by the Bay/Con Foster building in Clinch Park could soon see new life. Commissioners unanimously supported entering contract negotiations for the building with Studio Anatomy LLC, which is proposing to use the building for a multi-purpose, all-ages performing arts venue with the working name of Parkway Theater.

In a memo to commissioners, City Manager Benjamin Marentette said he recommended disqualifying the only other application for the space: a wellness center called Paper Birch. That proposal aimed to serve users 18+ and envisioned a “substantial subscription fee,” both factors that raised “concerns around a building within a city park being accessible to people of all ages and income levels,” Marentette wrote. “Paper Birch also very much desires essentially a 20-year lease (four five-year leases), where the RFP indicated the desired lease term was for five years.”

By contrast, the Parkway Theater proposal “demonstrated a stronger potential to activate the space for a broad audience” and fits Parks and Recreation’s vision for a “flexible, multi-use gathering space,” Marentette wrote. He cautioned that the city still needs to do due diligence on the group’s financial feasibility and for-profit structure, as well as plans to sublease the space to other groups for events. That review will be part of the negotiation process, he said. Marentette said he had no concerns about the group’s plans to sell alcohol. He noted that boaters in the adjacent marina often have drinks on board, with numerous surrounding downtown establishments also serving alcohol. Any negotiated contract will come back to city commissioners for final approval.

While Brian Chamberlain of Studio Anatomy LLC acknowledged it had been a “long and tedious process” to reach Monday’s decision, he said the Bijou building was worth it. “We are ready to get to work,” he told commissioners. In an email, Kyle Norman of Paper Birch said that while the group was “disappointed with the city’s process to date…we are deeply moved by the energy of this community in support of our project.” He added that they remain “deeply committed to bringing a time-honored tradition and beautiful facility to northern Michigan that will heighten our collective wellness.”

Carnegie Building
Progress was also made Monday on another RFP for a city property: the Carnegie Building on Sixth Street. Commissioners voted to extend Crooked Tree Art’s Center lease for the building by one year through October 2027. The new lease includes a three percent rate increase. Both Crooked Tree and Traverse Area District Library (TADL) have submitted proposals to use the building, with Marentette having a series of meetings with both groups now to see if a co-location compromise can be reached.

Marentette said there was “no valid reason” not to extend the lease out of fairness to Crooked Tree, which will give the organization the ability to program and fundraise for the near future while negotiations continue over long-term plans. Marentette said TADL had no objections to the lease extension. The city manager will continue to meet with both groups and have an update for commissioners on possible next steps at their June 1 meeting.

Farmers Market Pavilion
Commissioners voted 5-2 Monday to approve a nearly $3.7 million contract with Elmer’s Crane and Dozer to construct a new farmers market pavilion for the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market and to rebuild Lot B, the parking lot that hosts the market at the corner of Cass Street and Grandview Parkway. Stormwater improvements will also be made to the lot. The Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is contributing over $2.9 million in tax increment financing (TIF) funding to the project. Work is expected to start after the National Cherry Festival and be complete by late fall, with the farmers market relocating to Rotary Square during construction.

Commissioners Jackie Anderson and Heather Shaw were the sole ‘no’ votes, both because of a late zoning question that was raised. Lot B is designated parkland and is zoned OS (Open Space) district. “Parks” are an allowed use in OS, with City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht explaining that farmers markets are one of many types of uses allowed under “parks.” However, the zoning ordinance doesn’t specifically list municipal markets as a use in OS. The city’s planning commission is in the process of updating that language to make it expressly clear that municipal markets are allowed in OS, which Trible-Laucht said is already the case legally. She noted the farmers market has been operating since 1984, predating the zoning ordinance itself by 15 years.

However, despite Trible-Laucht’s reassurance the farmers market can operate legally in Lot B, Shaw and Anderson said they’d heard different legal opinions and were uncomfortable proceeding until the zoning ordinance is updated. Other commissioners said that delay would push the project into next year, negatively impacting farmers and the market. They also said they trusted Trible-Laucht over opinions from non-municipal attorneys and noted the market pavilion has gone through extensive public input in addition to approvals from the DDA, Parks and Recreation commission, and planning commission.

Also at Monday’s meeting…
> Commissioners approved an RFP that will be issued this week seeking a law firm to become the city’s new legal counsel. Trible-Laucht is leaving her position in June, with commissioners deciding to seek a firm to handle the city’s increasingly complex legal needs rather than one staff individual. Commissioners are expected to review a rubric at their study session next Monday they’ll use when interviewing and rating firms.

> Commissioners approved spending up to $96,000 as a city match for a grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation for Safe Street and Roads for All funding. Funds would help the city develop a Safety Action Plan that would identify complete streets improvements like mid-block crossings, bike lanes, medians, and more. Having that plan would qualify the city for additional future grants as well as funding for demonstration projects, like planned reconstruction work in the Seventh Street and Fourteenth Street corridors.

> Commissioners supported pursuing the addition of two seats to the Northwest Regional Airport Authority (NRAA) board that would be held by either city commissioners or city residents appointed by commissioners. Commissioners will formally approve a resolution at an upcoming meeting seeking the expansion of the board from 9 to 11 members. Commissioner Lance Boehmer noted that the airport occupies nearly 20 percent of the city’s land and is undergoing a $120 million expansion in city limits but has “zero representation from anybody accountable to our city residents.” Mayor Pro Tem Laura Ness agreed that the city “needs to be at the table” for TVC decision-making, along with the current board members appointed by Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties.