March 19, 1999

Input of local brokers sought on Building 50

Commons officials may have a bond proposal for voters to consider in the fall

By BILL ECHLIN
Record-Eagle staff writer
      TRAVERSE CITY - A plan to save at least parts of the landmark Building 50 at the Grand Traverse Commons campus has become the primary focus for redevelopment and will get major attention over the next few months.
      The Grand Traverse Commons Redevelopment Corp., owner of most of the core of the campus, has put aside plans to ask developers around the nation to draw up proposals for the entire 309,000-square-foot building.
      Instead, it is asking local realty brokers and marketing experts for ideas on how they would go about selling the partial-demolition approach.
      The shift in course is a major boost for the Architects and Engineers for Building 50, who for months have advocated breaking up Building 50 into 12 or so 20,000 and 30,000 square foot chunks.
      They argue that smaller pieces could be redeveloped by several developers for a variety of uses much more easily that trying to find one company to take on the entire building.
      The Commons board soon will send out notices to area realty companies and marketing firms, asking them to respond by April 15 with ideas on how to sell the new approach and estimates on the cost of a marketing campaign.
      Meanwhile, Commons is working with the city and township to change the district plan for the campus to allow for multiple uses at the core, especially for Building 50.
      It hopes to have those changes approved by early June. It may also have a bond proposal for voters to consider in the fall to fund initial costs of partial demolition and preservation of the building's segments.
      Details of a bond proposal will not be worked out until costs of the work are defined and a plan is developed for its repayment. Ultimately the sale of the segments to builders would repay the bond.
      Saturday the Commons board executive committee will meet with the Architects and Engineers group, local realty agents and brokers and others in an informal "pre-request meeting" to fine tune the board's proposals.
      Bob Brick of ReMax Bayshores Properties told the Commons board Thursday that the time is right, the market is right and action must be taken soon or miss out on a chance to recruit developers for the segmented plan.
      He said the Commons will have to take on a strong role, perhaps as master developer, doing the partial demolition and re-roofing the sections of the building that remain, putting in sidewalks, streetscape and other features and then be patient as the market responds.
      He envisions the project as a site condominium structure, with the land remaining in the Commons control but with builders and developers buying their buildings and becoming members of a condo association for common costs.
      Because it will have approval controls, the Commons board will be able to select which uses the buildings will have, ensuring that there won't be conflicting uses. That, he said, raises the value of the project to potential buyers just as controls at malls prevent too many competing stores from leasing at one site.
      Brick also encouraged the board to let developers look at redevelopment of several smaller buildings, known as cottages. Any new redevelopment at the campus, he said, makes what is left all that much more valuable.