Several significant projects are underway in East Bay Township, with planning commissioners Wednesday set to have their first look at a proposed mixed-use development that includes a new hotel, apartments, restaurant, retail space, and a pool and roof decks next to the Traverse City State Park. Construction is also set to begin today (Monday) on the township's Safe Routes to School project, with additional improvements targeted nearby for the Three Mile/Hammond corridor and TART Trail.

US-31 Development
The site of multiple proposed but never realized developments at 1050 US-31 between the Traverse City State Park and Hampton Inn (pictured) is now slated for another ambitious project. 

Planning commissioners will hold a sketch plan review at their 6:30pm Wednesday meeting at East Bay Township Hall on a project from developer Doraid Markus and his LLC TC Hospitality Partners. A sketch plan review allows the planning commission to give early feedback before a formal application is submitted.

According to project documents, Markus is proposing to build a new hotel with 112 rooms on the site. Plans also call for multi-family housing, including 110 apartments that include a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. The site is laid out so that hotel rooms are in a west wing while apartments are in an east wing, with a shared pool and common area between them. Each wing has its own secured entry area. Renderings also show retail space and a 5,525-square-foot restaurant. Roof decks are planned for both wings near US-31 facing Grand Traverse Bay. 

Markus plans to have 210 parking spaces for the development, 111 of which would be below the building in an underground garage. The plan describes two driveways, which Township Director of Planning & Zoning Claire Karner says would require a zoning variance. If that variance is granted, she recommends requiring one of the driveways to be closed if a service drive connection is eventually made to Three Mile Road. Karner notes that because Mitchell Creek runs to the south of the parcel, a 50-foot vegetative buffer and building setback must be maintained from the edge of the creek.

The site was previously proposed to be a Hyatt House in 2022. That project never materialized, but one of the project partners – Chris Abbo – is involved in the new development, Karner says. Prior to the Hyatt House, another previous hotel project proposed for the site also fizzled out after that developer passed away.

The site was previously discussed as the possible location for a new pedestrian bridge across US-31. Karner says township staff have discussed a bridge project with the development team, who are “interested” in exploring the idea, she says. Overall, the project plans generally align with the East Bay Beach District vision of having a multitude of uses on a site – particularly those open to locals, like restaurants and retail – rather than just a “monoculture” of hotels alone, Karner says.

After TC Hospitality Partners receives feedback on the project Wednesday, the next step will be for developers to submit a formal site plan for approval, according to Karner.
 
Safe Routes to School/Three Mile Corridor
East Bay Township will begin construction today on a nearly $2.7 million Safe Routes to School project that “will create one of the township's largest pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements to date,” according to a township release.

The project will construct 1.6 miles of new non-motorized infrastructure, including a 10-foot-wide shared-use trail separated from vehicle traffic along the Three Mile Road and Hammond Road corridors and sidewalk connections to the East Bay Branch Library, Cherry Knoll, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Middle School. Temporary lane shifts, reduced speeds, and intermittent sidewalk closures can be expected during construction.

“When complete, the trail will safely connect more than 2,400 students attending four East Bay Township schools while improving access between neighborhoods, businesses, parks, and the township's growing regional trail network,” according to the release. The project includes ADA-accessible crossings at the Three Mile Road and Hammond Road intersection and a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon with a pedestrian refuge island at the entrance to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Middle School.

In partnership with the Grand Traverse County Road Commission (GTCRC) and the school districts, East Bay Township will install new school speed zone signs that will reduce speeds from 55mph to 35mph during student arrival and dismissal times. An adjacent project, which will go to the township board on August 10 for consideration, will create a new East Bay Corners Civic Plaza on an easement from True North.

“The plaza will feature seating, picnic tables, a bicycle fix-it station, pedestrian-scale lighting, native landscaping, views of adjacent wetlands, and interpretive signage highlighting Mitchell Creek and the surrounding natural environment,” according to the release. “The plaza is intended to become both a trailhead and community gathering space while helping calm traffic along the corridor.”

Safe Routes to School improvements are part of a larger vision for an expanded trail network that includes extending the Three Mile Trail from South Airport Road through Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy's Mitchell Creek Meadows Nature Preserve, connecting it to the new pathways. Groundbreaking for the trail extension is targeted for 2027. TART Trails held a project open house last week and is hosting a fundraising campaign kickoff on Thursday, August 13 from 4:30pm to 6pm at Grand Traverse Distillery.

The Safe Routes to School work is being coordinated with another major project, GTCRC’s reconstruction of Hammond Road between Carlisle and Townline roads. Road commissioners recently approved a $3.2 million contract with Team Elmer’s for the project and will have a special meeting tonight at 6pm to approve a separate contract for upgrading the signal at Three Mile/Hammond. To accommodate the signal work, the Three Mile/Hammond intersection will be closed completely to traffic August 10-15. A detour will be in place using Garfield and South Airport roads. All Three Mile/Hammond area work is targeted for completion by mid-September, according to GTCRC Manager Dan Watkins.