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07/29/2007
Village GreenList of local businesses growing at Commons
Right mirror, Janice Binkert of Traverse City has her hair cut and styled by hair stylist Deidre Reimer at the recently opened Salone de Capelli located in Building 50 at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons. TRAVERSE CITY — Barb Smiers and her business partner spent three years searching for just the right spot for their flower shop, but they always came back to Building 50. Premier Floral Design, owned by Smiers and Pam DeVol, is among several new businesses moving into The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, continuing a gradual transformation of the former state hospital grounds into a commerce and residential hub on the city's west side. "I remember when we walked through that first time, and we said 'this is our space',” Smiers said. "It's the character of the place. It's not a box building with four walls.” A surge of recently opened or soon-to-open shops include a bakery, winery, clothing store, a massive salon, an art gallery and a specialty food store. For project developers The Minervini Group, it's just the commercial mix they've sought as they continue to pursue a goal of creating a walkable, European village-style development centered around Building 50, the century-old centerpiece of the old Traverse City State Hospital. "It's really an interesting cross-section of local businesses,” said Raymond Miniverni II, son and partner of project developer Ray Minervini. "It's really diverse.” The tenant list at The Village has grown to almost 50 local companies, ranging from retail businesses to professional offices to personal service firms. By year's end more than 200,000-square feet of redevelopment will be complete, Minervini said, representing more than 25 percent of the total building capacity at the sprawling complex. Other major plans are still in the works, including a hotel within the development. "Some of the more-exciting stuff is still to come,” he said. Jeanette Veeder relocated her clothing alteration shop from West Bay Shore Drive into the Mercato section of Building 50 and expanded her business to include retail sales. "Here, the atmosphere is just wonderful,” Veeder said. "I'm with other businesses that complement what I do.” Melinda Lombardi fulfilled her professional dream by opening Salone de Capelli, a spacious 3,000-square-foot salon on the first floor of Building 50. It opened three weeks ago. "There's no other place like this in town,” she said. Bruce Vaughn will open a second location of his Suttons Bay-based Silver Tree Deli early next month in the Mercato. He was drawn by the Commons' park-like setting and densely populated slice of Traverse City and Garfield Township. "My wife and I have been in love with that building for a long time,” he said. "It's already pretty phenomenal, even in its infancy.”
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