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August 18, 2000Local developer eyes building 50 planRay Minervini seeks help of board and area experts to bring life back to the historic structureBy BILL O'BRIENRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Another redevelopment plan for historic but deteriorating Building 50 on the Grand Traverse Commons grounds could be in the works - from a member of the Commons board. Local builder Ray Minervini, appointed to the Commons board by the city eight months ago, received an "exclusivity agreement" until Dec. 1 from the board at its monthly meeting Thursday. The pact will give him just over three months to negotiate a pre-development agreement or purchase option with the board for most of the structures within Subarea 2, which is in the center of the eight subareas of the Commons campus. After years of a nation-wide search where Commons officials courted various potential Building 50 developers from Chicago to the West Coast, Minervini has organized a group of local consultants and potential investors to investigate development possibilities for the century-old ex-administration building at the former state hospital grounds. The next three-plus months will be used to create a development concept for the board to consider. But Minervini said he wants to follow the existing district plan guidelines which call for "mixed-use" development of Building 50, which would include some residential housing with selected commercial uses in a "village center" type of development. But Minervini, who's already spent upwards of $50,000 on preliminary inspections of the building, said coming up with a feasible plan to renovate the building will be a challenge. "This is a very difficult task. (The Commons board has) been at this for nine years and we don't have a proposal yet. We're not certain if it's even going to work," Minervini said. "What I'm looking for is a little assurance I'm not wasting my money and time." Besides the massive, nearly 400,000 square-foot Building 50, other structures in Subarea 2 include seven cottages, an old greenhouse, a house and the former power plant which is being considered for a botanical gardens development. One of the cottages, number 36, is presently leased by Munson Healthcare as a day care center, officials said. Commons officials have estimated that $800,000 to $1 million would be needed for a new roof on the former central administration building, and up to $1.4 million for a thorough stabilization job. "Obviously there's a lot of costs involved to get this to the next stage," Minervini said. "I'm going to desperately need the help of this board to make this happen." Officials also briefly discussed whether continuing to serve on the Commons board would create a legal conflict for Minervini. But Commons attorneys said other would-be developers have served on the board over the years, and that Minervini wouldn't have to step down until the parties reached the stage of negotiating a final development agreement. He also won't vote on any issues involving his development plans. Commons board chairman Dan Tholen said that based on what officials have heard from other potential developers of Building 50 over the past decade, hopes of saving the century-old behemoth may hinge on finding a developer that's looking at more than just the bottom line. "It's just not going to happen with traditional investors," Tholen said. "There's more money to be made elsewhere." |