|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
April 21, 2000A new sense of purpose takes over the commonsForget Building 50 for just a minute and look at what is happening around the rest of the Grand Traverse Commons, formerly the state psychiatric hospital. You'll see that the vision of those who originally sought to make the area secure and useful is alive and well and changing to adapt to some changing circumstances.Perhaps the biggest and most controversial proposal concerns the conversion of the barns at the south end of the property to a law enforcement center for the county, city and state police. There is no doubt that using the barns for that purpose will have a substantial impact. But the plans displayed so far seem to show that the impact will actually be for the better. The proposed design not only respects the architecture of the buildings, it enhances them. The proposed investment and the commitment of the three agencies should help preserve the look and the integrity of the buildings for years to come. And the internal plans hold the added benefit of improving the efficiency of law enforcement for the whole region at a lower cost than the three agencies would have had in separate facilities. While some are questioning the plan and asking if it is appropriate, they should be reassured that it will be in keeping with the original goals for the Commons once it is completed. The same is true for the pending sale of land to Munson Medical Center on the other end of the property. There is always a tension between keeping the land open or developing it. But this land, nestled next to the Munson campus, is a natural place for the medical center to expand, as it surely will have to in years to come. It makes more sense for the entire region to have Munson build there than to block that expansion and force it to go somewhere else. And then there is Building 50, the architectural centerpiece of the area and the source of many appeals, both financial and emotional. The best possibility, most have always agreed, would be to find a way to make the building useful. There has never been enough money floating around to preserve the building merely for the sake of preservation. And until recently there have been intermittent periods of elation and despair when one plan or another, in whole or in part, has seemed on the verge of succeeding or failing. While it is too early to declare victory for Building 50, at least we can say that the prospect of conceding defeat seems less and less likely. There are hopeful hints, a renewed local determination to develop the property and a series of solid, inspiring local plans that show what can be done even if the timeline or financing are not yet secure. As the new chairman of the Commons board, Dan Tholen, puts it: "We've been waiting and waiting for someone to come in and be the developer. Now we're going to be the developer. I think it's time to fish or cut bait." As a long-time member of the board, he knows the rules - the often cumbersome set of regulations that come with an entity that answers to two local governments - and knows that what happens on the property will have to conform. But he also has the determination to get things done and done right, something that also comes from the long-time perspective. |
|
