Traverse City News and Events

DDA To Talk Projects, Parking

By Beth Milligan | Aug. 16, 2018

Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board members will talk several downtown projects and parking programs at their 8am meeting Friday – including the exploration of expanding downtown to include Eighth Street and updates on a proposed West Front Street parking deck, valet pilot, and commuter program.

Eighth Street
Discussions about expanding the DDA’s boundaries to include the Eighth Street corridor are gaining traction with business owners along the street – momentum that could lead to an official proposal coming to DDA board members and city commissioners for approval this fall and Eighth Street becoming part of the DDA by the new year.

DDA CEO Jean Derenzy tells The Ticker conversations have shifted from expanding the DDA’s tax increment financing (TIF) 2 district to include Eighth Street to strictly expanding the physical boundaries of downtown. That means there would not be TIF capture on Eighth Street properties, though they would be subject to the 2 mills DDA tax that helps pay for the organization’s operations. That approach aligns with the wishes of the North Boardman Lake District (NBLD), a group of business owners, employees, and residents along Eighth Street and north Boardman Lake who petitioned the DDA to expand its boundaries.

“We do not propose an expansion of the DDA TIF district and would instead consider an addition of a millage to our district’s property owners and other funding tools to finance NBLD corridor improvements,” the group wrote in its proposal earlier this year.

Expanding downtown’s boundaries would allow Eighth Street businesses to receive marketing and branding support from the DDA, become eligible for redevelopment liquor licenses and downtown-specific loans and grants, and be promoted as an official part of downtown on the DDA’s website and other communication outlets. One branding approach being discussed with business owners is marketing Eighth Street/the NBLD as a health and wellness corridor; Derenzy points out the stretch is home to the Boardman Lake Trail, the TART Trail, Oryana Natural Foods Market, two bicycle shops, a new summer farmers market, and multiple new medical services businesses including family practitioners, optometrists, and chiropractors. The planned reconstruction of Eighth Street is also intended to promote more walkability and bikability along the road.

“It always felt to me it could be a corridor where you could get your professional services and promote that health and wellness lifestyle: mind, body, and soul,” Derenzy says.

In order to focus her planning efforts on a proposed West Front Street parking deck (see below), Derenzy will seek DDA board approval to hire a planning consultant in the coming weeks to help prepare a proposed plan for expanding downtown’s boundaries. The official adoption of that plan will require a public hearing and approval from the DDA board and city commissioners, a process Derenzy says could take place by October. If the plan is approved, Eighth Street/NBLD could officially become part of downtown by the end of 2018.

Parking Programs
A new schematic design and cost estimate will soon be headed to city officials for a planned new public parking deck on West Front Street – a facility Derenzy says could be built within the next few years.

City commissioners purchased property at 145 West Front Street – near the southeast corner of the Front and Pine intersection – in 2016 for $1.3 million with the goal of building a long-planned third downtown parking deck on the site. A 2017 staff update on the project estimated the facility would have 400 parking spaces and cost $12.4 million. While the new schematic design and cost estimate has not yet been released, Derenzy says the latest draft version calls for 500 spaces and “will cost more” than the original $12.4 million estimate.

Funding sources to pay for the deck have yet to be fully identified. DDA staff and city commissioners previously discussed whether future developments expected to come online downtown – such as new construction on multiple vacant sites along West Front Street, as well as the former Fifth-Third Bank property in the Warehouse District – would generate enough new tax revenue in the TIF 97 fund to help cover construction. But Derenzy says the DDA needs to provide parking for the businesses that are “already there” along West Front Street and can’t rely on future projects to make the deck happen.

“We are required to provide public parking, and we understand that there’s a need for this parking structure,” she says. “It’s not about what’s new that’s coming on, it’s about servicing what we already have. It’s my position (the deck) needs to happen.”

Derenzy says she’ll be seeking public input on the proposed deck design and details this fall. Of note to downtown employees and visitors is a design option that emphasizes including bicycle lockers, public restrooms, and showers in the new facility. Those amenities could help accommodate more workers who commute to downtown by bicycle, Derenzy says, helping alleviate demand on parking spaces.

Also at Friday’s DDA meeting, board members will hear updates on two pilot programs to improve downtown parking, including a partnership with Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA) to provide free bus passes for downtown employees and a new valet parking program. According to DDA staff, 40 unique downtown employees have taken 477 rides so far on BATA through the free Destination Downtown program, which kicked off in early summer. “We are remaining optimistic that the program is working for those who are choosing to take advantage of it,” says Parking Administrator Nicole VanNess.

Meanwhile, a pilot vilot parking program downtown has seen an increase in usage almost every week since its June launch, according to Derenzy. VanNess says usage increased from 175 to 209 customers over the last three weeks. DDA board members will have discussions about options for continuing both programs on a longer-term basis, according to Derenzy.

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