Bringing a long-envisioned public square to life in downtown Traverse City topped a list of projects TC Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board members agreed Friday to pursue between now and 2027 as the current tax increment financing (TIF) 97 plan winds down. A community engagement process to design Rotary Square will kick off in January, with a final plan expected by August. Other priorities for the approximately $9.3 million in remaining TIF 97 funds available for capital improvements include upgrades to the Boardman/Ottaway riverwalk and J. Smith Walkway, a new farmers market pavilion, and East Front Street improvements.

An ad hoc committee helped narrow down a list of 30 potential projects to 4-5 recommended as “high priority” and the DDA’s primary focus for the next three years, according to DDA Executive Director Harry Burkholder. Burkholder noted that “construction seasons go by very quickly” and the DDA’s window to tackle meaningful projects in the TIF 97 district is narrowing – absent an extension of the plan, which is still an option but would require the approval of voters.

Board members agreed Rotary Square was at the top of the list – both because of investment that’s already taken place in the property and its perceived placemaking importance downtown. The DDA purchased the property at the corner of State and Union streets for $1.75 million in 2021 – and undertook demolition and other work at the site – thanks to a $1 million gift from Rotary Charities and a $2 million state allocation. This summer, the DDA board approved a $141,656 contract with Progressive AE to lead a public process to create a new vision for Rotary Square.

That process will begin in earnest in January, Progressive AE representatives said Friday. Public engagement will begin with a community survey and a series of pop-up events and open houses in the coming months, with the goal of first vetting preliminary ideas and then progressing to design alternatives and finally a schematic design with cost estimates by August. The initial concept is that Rotary Square would serve as a year-round community gathering space with a mixture of passive and active recreational elements, an iconic or signature feature, flexibility to accommodate a wide variety of programming, and the potential for vendors. DDA board members expressed hope the space can have sustainable or climate-resilient elements and meaningfully connect to the adjacent alley and FishPass project.

“I’m a firm believer in Rotary Square,” said board member Todd McMillen, who owns McMillen’s Custom Framing in Old Town. He said the public square could be an “economic driver downtown” and offer “major connectivity” between the older and newer sections of the city’s core. Board member Pete Kirkwood also believed the project could serve as a “center of gravity” for the DDA district and wanted to ensure public engagement was truly prioritized in its creation. “How are we going to get their ideas, and how are we going to get people fired up about the opportunity to have this kind of new little nucleus for our town?” he asked.

Project manager Jason Ball of Progressive AE promised a “really robust engagement process,” adding: “The concept of creating a public square for downtown Traverse City has been around for a long time, and we're finally at the precipice of making that dream a reality.” He noted the firm will deliver not only the schematic design with cost estimates but an “operational and management framework,” which will outline recommendations for ongoing programming and maintenance so Rotary Square can be self-sustaining.

Also high on the DDA’s priority list for TIF 97 funds are potential improvements to the Boardman/Ottaway riverfront and J. Smith Walkway. Board members acknowledged they wouldn’t be able to tackle everything they hoped to do with the river – a previous ambitious plan detailed tens of millions of dollars in potential riverfront upgrades – but felt it was crucial to start somewhere. “Just because you can't do everything you should doesn't mean you shouldn't do what you can, and I feel that way about starting to make amends to the river,” said Kirkwood, referring to past generational pollution and misuse of the Boardman.

Board members also hope to tackle a long-discussed pavilion for the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market, particularly since the city is already eyeing construction work in the parking lot where the market is held. Board members said farmers had long been promised market upgrades and were eager to see those realized. East Front Street reconstruction work emerged as a fourth high priority, particularly since the corridor serves as a gateway into downtown and has been neglected for decades. The reconstruction of Grandview Parkway and the newly redesigned East Front/Grandview intersection only further emphasizes the need for improvements to continue down the corridor, board members said.

Continuing to tackle smaller projects downtown as well as the major TIF 97 projects will require balance in the coming years, board members agreed. There are also many outstanding questions to be answered surrounding TIF 97, including final cost estimates for the high-priority projects (which could impact their timing or feasibility); lingering legal questions over how TIF 97 will wind down, if it indeed ends; and whether funds must be fully committed by the end of 2027 or can be spent after the TIF plan expires. While acknowledging the need for more answers, board members and staff appeared in agreement they had their “marching orders” heading into 2025, in Burkholder’s words.

Pictured: Rotary Square. Photo credit: TC DDA.