September 17, 1999

Proposal for Building 50 falls through

Pomeroy Investment Group fails to meet deadline; Commons board to explore options

By BILL O'BRIEN
Record-Eagle staff writer

      TRAVERSE CITY - Grand Traverse Commons officials say yet another development proposal for historic Building 50 has "evaporated," and that they will move ahead with reviewing other development plans for parts of the former state hospital grounds.
      Commons officials said Thursday night they have received no further response from the Pomeroy Investment Corp. of Bloomfield Hills about redeveloping the Commons property. Representatives of the firm approached the board in June with a preliminary development proposal that included renovating massive Building 50 into about 100 housing units.
      But a mid-September deadline set by the Commons board for entering an exclusive development agreement for the property came and went with no further correspondence from the firm, which officials say for now is out of the redevelopment picture.
      "I think the board's made a decision that we've cut their offering out of the project," Commons board member Beth Knol said. "You're too late."
      The board is charged with coordinating the redevelopment of the former state hospital grounds, now called the Grand Traverse Commons, which lies in parts of Traverse City and Garfield Township.
      Pomeroy officials would not discuss their redevelopment plans when contacted earlier this month, saying they do not publicly comment on pending proposals.
      But to the Commons board, the firm's silence has said enough.
      "We're assuming that (Pomeroy is) out of here," member Dan Tholen said.
      Comments from other officials were more guarded, although it's clear the board believes the Pomeroy plan is dead.
      "I'd be more cautious than that," said Commons board attorney Charles Judson. "We haven't received a response and we're moving forward with other proposals."
      This latest development - or nondevelopment, rather - means the Commons board will have to proceed with incremental development of the property instead of turning the land over to a master developer, which was the original intent. That will leave responsibilities like road and grounds maintenance to the Commons board, which also will have to start developing property appraisals to sell off the different buildings on the site.
      The Pomeroy plan was the latest master-developer proposal to have fallen through. Similar proposals have failed in the past, which is leading the Commons board toward taking a different approach.
      "I think we're moving towards being the developer," Judson said. "It's a different role than we were going to play."
      The board has received several inquiries about redeveloping some of the smaller buildings on the grounds during the past year, but held up any action for the past two months awaiting word from Pomeroy. Some of those proposals include a swimming/aquatics operation in a building just west of Building 50. A doctors' office in one of the old cottages also has been discussed, along with a private school.
      Commons officials will hold a closed study session within the next three weeks to discuss appraisals being developed by the staff for the various buildings before meeting with some of the interested parties - so far all local operations - next month.
      "We have to decide some philosophical questions, too," chairwoman Carol Hale said. "Do we want top dollar for these properties or do we want them developed?"
      None of the pending development proposals involves Building 50, which has around seven acres of indoor space, although officials still are optimistic that the centerpiece building on the campus can be preserved and redeveloped.
      In other action Thursday night the board recommended appointment of local builder Ray Minervini to a seat created when the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District decided to vacate its seat on the Commons Board.
      Last month the Traverse City City Commission, at the urging of the citizen advocacy group Committee to Preserve Building 50, suggested that the board nominate a candidate with construction and historic preservation experience. Commons officials said Minervini has such experience and was recommended by Building 50 supporters for an earlier vacancy on the board.
      The appointment is subject to approval by the City Commission, which may consider it Monday night.