Traverse City

[Ka3kab]

I know, I looked at the WJRT webcam and saw there was nothing down there. I have about a foot of it at my house. And of course, the good old Grand Traverse Road Commision has done yet another piss poor job of maintaining the roads. It wouldn't kill them to use a little salt (or a ton of it, I really don't care).

But back to your original post, I didn't know that the city still did that for Garfield. Those two entities are kind of like a divorced couple sometimes. The same day I real that they will quit providing the leaf pick up service, I also real that they will partner up on trash collection. They won't provide city services in the Inchoncholee (SP) development, but won't let the township put in an access road. To me personally, I wish the Garfield Township would charter itself as a city and swallow Traverse City. Sometimes the city just does some of the stupidest things.

[dtown]

^they would have to keep the name Traverse City though, Garfeild would be kind of a crapty name!

I wish they wouldve just let the city annex that Inochee place, it was only like 300 acres or something wasnt it?

[Ka3kab]

Something like that. I just get tired of the squabbleing between the two governments. Traverse City is basically mad or jeolous about Garfield Twp. being bigger and they feel the need to stick their opinions in on all of their business. The bridge linking Hammond and Hartman Rd's was pretty much stalled because the city wanted to have a ton of traffic and environmental studies done. Why they were allowed to, seeing as how the bridge is nowhere near the city limits, is beyond me. They don't like the stores that go up in the Township and want them to control the sprawl better. That is all fine and all that, but the city is doing nothing to add new homes in the city. Anytime someone wants to build new homes, they have to jump through a million hoops. It just happened again recently where a developer wanted to build a few dozen houses behind the old train depot. Good spot, in town, close to everything but the guy wanted the homes to be for low to moderate income families. He had to do so many things to satisfy the cities zoning requirements that he said, screw it, and pulled out.

[dtown]

Thats BS, if you want to keep the city succesfull, they need to make it easier to build houses in the city, also needs to be easier to build downtown; by this i dont mean anyone can build whatever crap they want, it still should be quality, but it shouldnt be so hard to get approval for stuff. You know?

EDIT: wow, i just noticed that this topic has more views than the Flint, Lansing, and Ann Arbor forums combined.

Edited December 5, 2006 by dtown

[Ka3kab]

Those are replies. If you go into each topic, you see that there are a ton of views for each one. I thought that too, at first glance, but then I realized that the top forums show replies on the far right, where the bottom forums show views over there. Oh well, we still get a lot of traffic IMO.

Also, I totally agree that there should be quality homes built in the city. But a few years back, a family bought a empty parcel of land over by F&M park near downtown and wanted to build a house on it. It wasn't a bad looking house, not a ranch or bi-level starter home, but the city wanted it to be built like the 1890's style victorian homes that are in the area. As far as I know, the neighborhood is NOT some sort of historical district. So needless to say, once again, the developer said thanks, no thanks and moved on out to the outlying townships.

[dtown]

Oh, ok i see now, about the views. I wish we could get a few more people to regularly reply to thus thread though.

IMO, as long as the house isnt a peice of crap, or stands out in a historical district, then they should be able to build whatever they want. To a certain extent, anyway.

[MJLO]

I just gotta say you guys are doing an outstanding job of keeping the TC news updated. I think you should start posting new news in separate threads to get multiple conversations going. I promise to jump in and help. I've been to neglectful as of late.

[dtown]

I guess we could do that from time to time. We definitly need some more contributers though.

[MJLO]

It's true, but I think part of the problem is that there is only one continuous conversation going on about TC, and prospective forumers probabally get a little bored with it, Multiple conversations, and construction updates, would encourage more people who want to add their own two cents.

[Ka3kab]

I agree, but there is rarely ever more than one or two things happining around here, contruction wise anyway.

Edit: How would someone go about setting up sub-forums.

Edited December 6, 2006 by Ka3kab

[MJLO]

Well it sounds like there are lots of proposals and construction projects going around there. Could we have a new thread about Traverse city developments?

[Ka3kab]

As of right now, there are quite a few different things happening. Here what I can think of off the top of my head.

Three story bank building downtown - under construction

Ten story mixed-use development w/ parking garage, west side downtown - proposal

Three story mixed-use development, west side downtown - proposal

Three story mixed-use development, west side downtown - site preperation underway

Three story mixed-use development w/parking garage, east side downtown - finished, final touches

Widening South Airport Rd from Garfield Ave west to Airport entrence - proposal, planning stages (fast track)

There have also been, in the last couple of years, four or five condo/townhouse building build anywhere from downtown to along East Bay. They have all been three to five stories.

I know it looks like alot is going on, but this is the first big construction boom, other than suburban big box stores, since the mid to late 90's. (believe it or not, that was 10 years ago.)

[MJLO]

There really is quite a bit happening in TC. It's definately the commercial and business center for northern Michigan. It's population really doesn't reflect the size of the city. Thanks in big part to the fact that every square inch of Michigan is incorporated. However, the city is not very dense with only about 900 people psm. I've been to Traverse City a few times. But I don't know that much about the layout. Given the relatively low density, is there room inside the city for more population growth? Or is it effectively built out?

[Ka3kab]

For the most part it is built out. The few area's left to be build on are the old industrial sites along the Boardman Lake, on the west side of the lake. The east side has been pretty much filled. There are a few development on the west side of the lake, but for the most part, it is still vacant industrial/railroad land. There is a sizeable portion of land also on the north side of the lake that was scheduled to be built on, but if you saw a few posts back, the developer pulled out. Other than that, it pretty much full.

Now, when you look at a map of the area around Traverse City, it looks like there is a ton of land that could be built on, but in reality, it is probebly too hilly.

[dtown]

^Is that Copper Ridge place still being built on, over on Silver Lake Rd?

Just curious.

[Ka3kab]

The last time I drove by there, it looked like they were putting some finishing touches on one last building. If they started building something else there, I don't know.

[dtown]

Oh, thanks.

[egrguy]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...NEWS99/60919020

It sounds like they're replacing Turtle Creek casino, I had no ideas there were plans to do this.

The above link no longer works, but was wondering if they've even started on this yet?

[dtown]

I doubt it, or there would be an article in the Record-Eagle.

[Ka3kab]

The above link no longer works, but was wondering if they've even started on this yet?

Nothing really, other than they haved moved in a bunch of equipment and the parking lot is where they put it all. So now, when you go to the casino, you have to park in the overflow lots which are a bit of a distance from the casino. Not bad in summer, but when I went out there this past weekend it was a cold walk. They do have shuttles, but I always feel so lazy if I take one.

[dtown]

I figured thats all that happened.

[Ka3kab]

Another lawsuit in the Incochee Woods development. This time, the developers are suing the city for use of a two-track (they want to turn it into a road that will connect with Wayne St.) this is the forth lawsuit brought by either the developers, city or township against one or another.

Traverse City Record-Eagle

[dtown]

Wow, just get the damn thing done!

[Ka3kab]

Get that done, build the damn bridge, let Meijer build in Acme, there is a list of crap that is sitting on a planners desk somewhere that was started 15 years ago and is nowhere near completion. Just this past week, the Leland village board recommended that a tree be cut down, granted the tree is over 100 years old and it really is a landmark for the town, but for god's sake, huge branches are falling off of it, near people and buildings and there is a group out there who wants the thing preserved. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not for just chopping down tree's just for the hell of it, but when its posing a hazard to the community its in, it has to go. Just like me, I wish I could continue this rant, but I have to leave now.

[dtown]

Wow, about the tree. If its a hazard, it needs to be cut down.