After two years of sitting vacant, new life could soon be coming to the former Scalawags space on State Street in downtown Traverse City. City commissioners will vote Monday to approve a five-year lease with Malkeat Singh – an experienced restaurateur who ran Bombay Cuisine and Curry Kitchen in Grand Rapids – to open a new Asian-fusion eatery in the ground-floor space of the Larry C. Hardy Parking Garage.

Singh’s was one of three proposals submitted for the city-owned space through a request-for-proposals (RFP) overseen by Alex MacKenzie of Coldwell Banker Commercial Schmidt Realtors. The listing was public for two weeks, with interested parties submitting proposals that were “focused on the experience, term length, rental rate, and contingencies,” according to Transportation Mobility Director Nicole VanNess.

Singh proposed paying $273,960 for a five-year lease, a cost that breaks down to $4,566 per month. The contract includes one proposed five-year renewal option. Under the modified gross lease, the city would be responsible for property taxes and building insurance, while Singh would pay utilities and shared janitorial costs. The city will verify the electrical and mechanical systems are in working order and replace the hood and vent line in the space.

Singh will be responsible for paying the first month’s rent and security deposit on the date the lease is executed, which is planned to begin in early September. He’ll have three months of free rent under the proposed contract to complete a buildout of the space, which could put the restaurant on track for a late 2024 opening. VanNess says Singh is “eager to get back in the restaurant business in the Traverse City area” following long successful stints running restaurants in Grand Rapids, adding the planned Asian-fusion concept will “serve a mix of Indian and Chinese food.”

Two other Traverse City restaurateurs also submitted proposals. The owners of Panda North – currently shuttered in Logan’s Landing – also responded, though their proposed five-year contract of $191,136 was significantly lower than Singh’s. The owner of Korean food truck Heart N Seoul – which operates at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons – also submitted a proposal for a three-year lease of $166,908 (just slightly higher than Singh’s monthly rate at $4,636). However, VanNess tells The Ticker that Heart N Seoul’s proposal was contingent on obtaining a liquor license – a condition that could considerably delay a restaurant opening.

“Having been vacant the last few years, we’d like to get a tenant in soon,” VanNess says. “They’ve also not done a brick-and-mortar restaurant before.”

VanNess says the city received other informal offers, including a proposed yoga studio. Those proposals were not part of the official RFP process. “We didn’t consider them official until we listed the property,” she says. Staff who evaluated the proposals also wanted to see the space continued to be used as a restaurant – a fact that was emphasized in the RFP – given the coolers, hood vents, and other equipment already in place. Downtown leaders have previously expressed concerns about restaurant spaces being converted into office or other professional uses downtown.

Scalawags abruptly closed in 2022 after owner and operator Jamie (Jamo) Washburne died unexpectedly at his home at age 64. Washburne had operated in the space since 2005. Legal proceedings for his estate delayed the timeline in which the space could be reopened to a new tenant.

Lease revenues go into the Auto Parking Fund, which is now under the city and not the TC Downtown Development Authority (DDA) thanks to a recent transition in parking management services. VanNess noted in a memo that the HVAC system in the Scalwags space is at the end of its life and has been scheduled to be replaced since 2019. However, that replacement was put on hold “until it was determined if the space would remain a restaurant or convert to office or retail space, as a conversion would have changed the scope of the replacement.” With a lease agreement approved, an RFP is expected to be issued next for the HVAC replacement, VanNess wrote.