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September 3, 2000

Developer has resurrection plan

Ray Minervini aims to revive landmark
By BILL O'BRIEN
Record-Eagle staff writer
       TRAVERSE CITY - It's about a two-mile jog from Ray Minervini's home on Bower's Harbor to the grave of his father, where he would talk to his dad about the almost-overwhelming job of resurrecting Building 50.
      "I've had the conversations with him," Minervini said of his late mentor, a builder who retired to become an artist and left strong impressions of both professions on his son. "I asked him 'Am I totally nuts?' and he says, 'Yeah - but you've got the guts to do it.'
      "I learned from him that the only limitations we have are the restrictions we place on ourselves," Minervini said.
      Minervini has assembled a small team of local professionals looking at all angles of the once majestic but starting-to-crumble Building 50, the massive centerpiece structure of the former state hospital grounds now known as the Grand Traverse Commons. He has until Dec. 1 to come up with a redevelopment proposal and a financing plan for Building 50 and the other half-dozen historic cottages in a 30-acre area of the Commons campus. Then he will see what the Commons board thinks of the plan.
      Minervini says the key to making Building 50 a centerpiece of the Commons' redevelopment is to offer a combination of residential and commercial land-uses on the campus. That includes residences, offices and retail businesses, along with recreation and entertainment opportunities combined with open public space.
      He calls his vision "a neighborhood within a neighborhood" where persons can live, shop and enjoy recreation within a short walk - a major commandment in the New Urbanist bible. He also believes there are local businesses and investors willing to share in his vision.
      "We want to see Building 50 get done if possible," Commons executive director Rachel Brady said. "We've had so many disappointments in the past that it's hard to see somebody coming in and doing it. But if he can do it, that's great."
      Minervini, an energetic 58-year-old, has visited the Traverse City area for four decades and moved here permanently 12 years ago, after 30-plus years as a builder and developer based in his native Detroit area. His resume includes work with some of the Midwest's development giants, including working with the Schostak Brothers on redevelopment of the Cherryland Mall and renown southeast Michigan developer Al Taubman.
      A specialist in historic preservation and a staunch New Urbanist, Minervini helped on several historic renovation projects locally after making the area his home. They include the Old Town Playhouse on Eighth Street, the City Opera House downtown and the old stone schoolhouse building in downtown Suttons Bay.
      Awed by the architecture and craftsmanship of Building 50, he also followed the workings of the Commons board. He says he always figured - with all the open space and natural beauty of the old state hospital grounds - that some developer somewhere would come up with a viable plan to restore the building.
      Several came and went during the '90s, and Minervini got more involved in 1998 when the PM Group of Brighton recommended tearing down the building. To that point, the Commons' district plan limited uses for Building 50 to senior housing development, which several developers said would not produce enough revenue to pay for fixing up the building.
      The district plan was amended last year to allow for "mixed-use" development of the building.
      After the demolition proposal surfaced, Minervini worked with a group of local architects and engineers who designed their own ideas for saving most of Building 50. Pushed by the Committee to Preserve Building 50 citizens group, the city commission appointed Minervini to the Commons board late last year.
      Early this year, after much contemplation with his family including a decision to turn over operation of his thriving development business to his three sons, Minervini says a "gut feeling" told him it was time.
      "I had always thought that it was an economically viable possibility," he said of renovating Building 50. "When all the other offers kind of fell by the wayside, I decided it was time to step up to the plate."
      Building 50's long, linear style with big windows and spacious hallways, and its campus setting, represented a renaissance of sorts which went on across the country in the late 1880s for the care and treatment of the mentally ill.
      "This building, at the time, was really cutting-edge technology," Minervini said. It was the first state-owned building to have its own electric power plant, and its air ventilation system that brought cool air in from beneath the massive structure was state-of-art for its time.
      "There is no building in northern Michigan of the same stature, and we'll never see a building like this built again in northern Michigan," he said. "It was built at a time when craftsmen were artisans.
      "To me, the key to keeping a building alive is to put people in the building," he says. "The more people you put in the more alive it becomes. ... You can create something that transcends the community."
      Minervini is an optimist but also a realist. His group - which has a logo of Don Quixote riding a white elephant - already has spent more than $50,000 in preliminary evaluation of the building, including the roof, windows and ventilation system.
      He says that deterioration of old buildings typically happen in a bell curve pattern where minimal damage begins to escalate more quickly - meaning renovation costs also start to accelerate. Time is clearly not on the side of Building 50, he says.
      "We're on the upward swing of that curve," Minervini said. "The problem is the water damage. Ninety-eight percent of the deterioration is because of the lack of a roof. ... Fortunately, it was built like a fortress when it was built.
      "My goal is see shingles going on that roof," he said. "Right now I'm focused on that goal."
      In the next 90 days he'll work with his small team of local attorneys, financiers, real estate and marketing experts to determine if his vision can become reality. He encouraged anyone interested in doing business in or living on the grounds to contact him to talk about the project - in contrast to most earlier developers who kept their plans under tight wraps.
      "It has the potential of being one of the largest redevelopment areas of northern Michigan," said Minervini, noting that massive Building 50 and the surrounding cottages account for almost 600,000 square feet of floor space.
      "It's huge," he said. "We could be talking about a project approaching the $100 million mark."
      Building 50's supporters are also enthused about Minervini's proposal, but refuse to believe that he could be the century-old structure's last hope.
      "There's not a feeling that if this doesn't happen it won't happen," said Janese Horton, head of the Committee to Preserve Building 50. "But there is a feeling that this is a golden opportunity to make this happen. (Minervini) cares a lot about this community, and he's done a lot for this community. The message that's going out is that the welcome door to the community is open again."
      Commons board Chairman Dan Tholen believes that to save Building 50 it will take a developer "who's willing to look beyond the bottom line," as a series of potential investors have told the board that there is a multi-million dollar gap between the cost of renovating the building and the income that can be gained from it.
      While there is much work ahead to determine if he can do what others could not, Minervini says it will be a decision not just based on dollars and cents.
      "The bottom line for most any business is the best bottom line, but that's not always what's best for the community," he said. "My hope is that I can do well by doing good."
     





Sept. 13 meeting to review GT Commons
      TRAVERSE CITY - After weeks of review and refinement from planning officials in the city and Garfield Township, the latest proposed changes to the Grand Traverse Commons district plan go before the public again next week.
      The city and township planners will meet on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Governmental Center to continue their review of a series of changes to the development plan for the old state hospital grounds being sought by the Grand Traverse Commons board.
      A subcommittee of city and township planners have held several meetings with Commons representatives since late July, trying to reach a consensus on changes to the plan before they are sent to the city commission for final adoption.
      Among the amendments is accommodating the county's plans for a city-county-state law enforcement center at the south end of the campus along Silver Lake Road.
      Other changes include a revised transportation plan and amending one of the sub-area plans to allow for a still-developing proposal for a botanical gardens project.
      Commons officials say the plan changes could clear the way for a series of moves which could- after a decade of relative dormancy - gobble up much of the land on the campus still available for development.
      - Bill O'Brien