Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board members are starting to zero in on a handful of projects they want to prioritize in the next three years with approximately $9.3 million left for capital improvements in the tax increment financing (TIF) 97 fund. Continuing to test and tweak two-way street functionality downtown, investing in Rotary Square, improving the riverfront/farmers market areas, and considering either East Front and/or continued TART Trail improvements emerged as early contenders among board members Friday, with a final decision on priorities expected in December.

While TIF 97’s extension beyond 2027 is still an option, it must now go to voters for approval under a charter amendment approved earlier this month. Next November is the soonest a proposed TIF extension could appear on a regular election ballot. If successful with voters, the plan’s extension would then need to go to city commissioners for approval. Given that timeline and the uncertainty of the outcome, DDA board members want to ensure they use TIF 97’s remaining funds strategically for their most important projects. CEO Harry Burkholder said the DDA is “losing valuable time” and needs to be “efficient” in its decision-making, given that major capital improvement projects often have long lead times for engineering and design on top of actual construction.

“I think it’s absolutely imperative this body decides what it wants to work on,” Burkholder said. An ad hoc committee of board members has been considering criteria to help narrow 30+ potential projects down to 5-6, a list from which board members would realistically choose two or three to focus on by the end of the year. Proposed criteria include the existing status of projects, their total cost, their community and/or city commission support, the feasibility of project completion by 2027, long-term maintenance and staffing obligations, potential sources for outside funding, and the feasibility of combining DDA projects with other city work.

For example, Burkholder said that the city has talked about repaving and adding stormwater controls to the parking lot that hosts the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market. If that lot is going to be under construction anyway, the DDA could partner at that time on putting in a permanent farmers market shed – a long-discussed project. Other DDA board members supported farmers market improvements, with Pete Kirkwood calling it a “legacy” project that would likely be popular with the community.

Investing in Rotary Square – the new civic square at the corner of State and Union streets (pictured) – emerged as another high priority. That’s because both the state of Michigan and Rotary Charities have contributed significant funding toward the project with expectations of its development for community use. The DDA has also hired consulting firm Progressive AE to lead a public visioning process for Rotary Square, which is expected to get underway in earnest soon. “I believe the Rotary Square project is one that could be transformational for our downtown,” said Vice Chair Ed Slosky, adding that the project in conjunction with the neighboring FishPass could bring “a lot of attention to the downtown area.” Noting the DDA owns the Rotary Square property outright, Mayor Amy Shamroe agreed the site is “ours to do something great with.”

Pointing to the widespread public input that shaped the creation of the Lower Boardman River Unified Plan, multiple board members said riverfront improvements were another priority, possibly in conjunction with farmers market upgrades. However, they also acknowledged they didn’t know how much the remaining TIF 97 budget could realistically cover for major-scale pedestrian or other riverfront work, especially if funds are further divided among other projects. Work on downtown alleys, the long-debated reconstruction of East Front Street, and continued investment in downtown TART Trail improvements were also cited by board members as potential top contenders.

Testing and tweaking two-way street configurations also topped many lists. Board members Friday voted to modify a recommendation they approved in September to extend the downtown two-way street pilot project for one year to instead extend it for two years – a proposal that next goes to city commissioners for final approval. Board member Gary Howe said a two-year extension was necessary to collect sufficient data for modeling, adding he believed “one-way streets are broken streets” downtown. Supporting two-way street conversions “is the most important thing we can actually lead on that could have a lasting impact,” Howe said. Part of continuing to test the efficacy of two-way streets could include modifying some signals to make turns easier and potentially temporarily converting Front Street to two-way traffic to measure that change’s impact on the overall grid.

However, that project will ultimately depend on city commissioners – including not just their willingness to support the two-year extension but to approve funding for upgrades as signals are modified or other changes made. Burkholder reminded board members that all the DDA projects being discussed as TIF 97 priorities will ultimately go to city commissioners for approval. “We can’t do this in a vacuum...because ultimately if a shovel goes in the ground, it’s got to be decided on by the city commission,” he said. “So if we come up with a list, and the city commission says, ‘Absolutely not,’ then we’re right back where we were.”