Traverse City planning commissioners voted this week to schedule June 3 public hearings for two projects: a potential rezoning of part of Union Street – which could allow a mixed-use development with 24 residential units to be built in the 400 block – and the proposed redevelopment of the TC Millworks property on Woodmere Avenue.

Union Street Rezoning
A proposed development on Union Street is prompting planning commissioners to consider new zoning for a handful of blocks – changes that have been discussed since at least 2022 and are recommended in the city’s new master plan.

Planning commissioners this week set a June 3 public hearing on rezoning the 300, 400, and 500 blocks of Union Street from C-2 (Neighborhood Center District) to C-4a (Regional Center District). While the maximum building height is the same under both zoning designations – 45 feet – C-2 has a key clause that has been restricting growth in Old Town, according to City Planning Director Shawn Winter. That clause states buildings can only go to 45 feet if one floor is residential – otherwise, the building height is limited to 30 feet.

The requirement was added in 1999 to “incentivize residential growth downtown, which wasn’t really occurring at the time,” Winter said. “That is no longer the case today, and probably an unnecessary requirement.” That restriction forced Kuhn Rogers – a law firm that had been downtown for over 100 years – to relocate to Copper Ridge in 2022 because the company outgrew its building in Old Town. Since adding a floor would’ve brought the firm’s building height to over 30 feet, they would’ve been required to add not only a third floor for office use but a fourth floor for residential use. “They were not interested in becoming residential landlords, nor were they in a position to make that additional investment” – so Kuhn Rogers moved out of the city, Winter said.

That prompted city leaders to hold public discussions about rezoning Union Street, a proposal Winter said was supported by property owners. He added that many properties in Old Town are nonconforming with the zoning code, so they don’t even meet current standards. “If a tornado ripped through Old Town, you couldn't rebuild it the way it is today,” he said. The goal of rezoning is to create uniform standards that will bring more buildings into compliance and meet the future needs of Old Town, Winter said.

“The intent was to make Old Town a more natural extension of the downtown area – with FishPass and the South Union Street bridge replacement further strengthening this effort – and to implement a zoning classification that more closely resembles what is built today,” he said.

While rezoning conversations were put on the backburner the last few years, the creation of the city’s new master plan and a request from real estate agent Scott Hardy on behalf of a developer brought them back into focus. The developer hopes to redevelop 418 and 420 Union Street (pictured) – one parcel currently a vacant lot, the other a building that houses a hair salon that would be demolished for the project – by combining the properties into one site. A new mixed-use development planned for that site would have ground-floor commercial units and 24 residential units on the upper floors. Hardy said the units – planned to be for-sale, though that could change – would be smaller and thus more affordable than other downtown units, geared toward young professionals.

“This is not a short-term-rental play,” Hardy said. “It’s a marketplace that we think is underserved.” The goal is “create a vibrant community in the Old Town area. This could put as many 30 people there as residents of the area, shopping in that area,” he said. Winter said that rezoning those two properties alone would likely constitute “spot zoning” and be opposed by the city attorney. But since rezoning has already been targeted for Union Street, City Commissioner Mitch Treadwell said he saw “no reason to not have this (development) be what kick-starts the discussion about that entire” stretch of corridor.

Planning commissioners were primarily interested in rezoning the 300 and 400 blocks of Union Street between Sixth and Eighth streets. However, they added the 500 block south of Eighth Street for consideration since it was referenced in the master plan. Planning commissioners acknowledged that block could receive more pushback, though, because of its transitional nature into residential neighborhoods. The June 3 public hearing would be one of several required meetings to approve the zoning changes at both planning and city commission levels.

TC Millworks
Planning commissioners also voted this week to schedule a public hearing at the same June 3 meeting on the proposed redevelopment of the TC Millworks property at 1032 Woodmere Avenue. The Mill District, as the project is being called, would be covered by a planned unit development (PUD). A PUD is a zoning plan tailored to a specific property – typically one that is unique or has several complex issues. The Mill District lot shape is unique – narrow and long – and has three different street frontages with three front yard setbacks and adjacent railroad right-of-way. The PUD process, therefore, is intended to create a site-specific plan that can accommodate those challenges in development.

Owner Tim Pulliam of Keen Technical Solutions and his partners are planning to build a mixed-use development with four buildings, including one commercial building and three residential buildings. The commercial building is envisioned to house an “adventure hub” that will serve as the new long-term home of Brick Wheels, bike and paddleboard rentals, and a co-mingled café/restaurant/brewery space. Underground parking, a new non-motorized trail connection to the Boardman Lake Loop Trail, and the paving of part of Sheffer Street with public on-street parking are also included in the project. Winter noted that planned city improvements will also tie into the project, with the city intending to cape seal part of Carver Street this summer and install bike lanes that will connect Traverse Heights neighborhood to the planned Mill District trail connection down to Boardman Lake. “The timing of these two things is really complementary,” he said.

Pulliam said the commercial building will be the first built since Brick Wheels is on a deadline to vacate its current space by early 2027. Some details are still being determined for the residential buildings, including whether they’ll be three or four stories and whether they’ll have ground-floor commercial, Pulliam said. He was hopeful that if the PUD is approved, the Mill District project will help set the tone for future redevelopment in the corridor. “Hopefully as the other parcels to the north of us have an opportunity to develop, we've put together a nice model that works well for the community and is fitting for that neighborhood,” he said.