It’s time for our annual previews of the people, products, places, and policies locals should be watching heading into 2024. Read on for a glimpse of the first handful, and grab the upcoming January Traverse City Business News to access the entire list or subscribe to the TCBN here. 

Grandview Parkway
In the past five years, summer traffic patterns in and around town have been disrupted by downtown bridge replacements, a complete revamp of Eighth Street, and intersection-to-roundabout conversions. In 2024, though, northern Michigan is staring down what could be the biggest road project most local residents have ever seen: The reconstruction of Grandview Parkway.

For years, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has been sketching out plans to invest some $27 million in revamping the parkway from 500 feet west of Division Street and running east to the north side of the M-37/Garfield Road intersection. Over the course of 2024, MDOT will rebuild that entire two-mile stretch of highway, including asphalt, curb and gutter, sidewalk, drainage and repairs to Murchie Bridge. The project will also redesign several intersections along the route to incorporate more crossings and other pedestrian or cyclist-friendly features.

MDOT has already commenced work, including the installation of temporary traffic signals at three key intersections – Railroad/East Front, Railroad/Washington, and East Front/Milliken – to prepare for traffic detours. But the majority of the work will begin in the spring, with MDOT set to break the project up into two segments: an eastern segment from Garfield Avenue to Front Street; and a western segment from Front Street to Division Street.

Work on the eastern segment is “anticipated to begin in March,” according to the city, and is slated to be finished in time for the National Cherry Festival in July. Westbound traffic will be detoured onto Railroad Avenue and Eighth Street.

Crews will resume work after Cherry Festival, with the western segment demanding lane closures and traffic shifts for both directions of traffic. Work on the second segment is expected to last until November.

“The Parkway will be a big project, but I think our region is prepared to work through it,” says Traverse Connect President and CEO Warren Call when asked to predict any potential economic fallout from the project. “There has been a lot of thoughtful planning and preparation, and I believe the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA), BATA, and Traverse City Tourism (TCT) will be putting out joint communications, transportation info, and wayfinding to help visitors get around.”

Communication is key to the project, says TCT President and CEO Trevor Tkach.

“We as institutions – TCT, the City of Traverse City, the DDA, Traverse Connect, BATA, and TART Trails – are going to be doing continuous communication on this issue, so that we know where we are in the project at all times and how to explain the detours and options for locals and visitors alike,” he says.

While Tkach doesn’t expect the Parkway closure will depress travel trends, he does think certain hotels, businesses, or events could prove more frustrating for visitors to get to than usual.

“I do have concerns for our downtown businesses. We have a lot of hotels on the east side, and it’s going to be very difficult for visitors – and locals! – on that side of town to get downtown for a long time,” he adds.

BATA Communications Director Eric Lingaur says the organization is hard at work on a modified transit plan that will allow everyone to get where they are going on time.

“BATA is going to focus on helping people navigate the construction and avoid being stuck in traffic by modifying its free, high-frequency Bayline route and encouraging people to use park-and-ride locations along the route,” Lingaur says. “BATA will be partnering with the DDA on a promotional campaign to educate residents and visitors on public transit options to access downtown during the construction.”

Lingaur also notes that BATA will “be opening its new LaFranier Road Transfer area” – which includes a 40-spot park-and-ride lot – in May, which he says “will provide another way for people to easily get downtown.” Construction on the headquarters is slated to finish out in July or August.

Indoor Sports Complexes
For years, a local group calling itself the Traverse Indoor Sports Coalition (TISC) has been investigating opportunities to bring new sports complexes to the area. Heading into 2024, that possibility seems closer to reality than ever before.

In March, The Ticker reported that TISC was in serious talks with TCAPS about partnering to build two new community fieldhouses at Central High School and West Senior High, respectively. That public-private partnership would open up the option of paying for the complexes through a combination of TCAPS bond funds and private donations. TCAPS would own and operate the facilities – and use them for school sports, as needed – but the fieldhouses would also be available for community use.

TISC – which includes a variety of government, nonprofit, and business partners – has been working since 2018 to get the idea off the ground. Traverse City Tourism and Traverse Connect – both of which are a part of TISC – have also repeatedly touted potential economic, tourism, and quality-of-life benefits. TCT President and CEO Trevor Tkach, for instance, has noted that the ability to host indoor sporting events could help bolster Traverse City’s shoulder-season tourism months, bringing more people to town and more money to local hotels and businesses.

The TCAPS board has been circling the idea of pursuing a new bond request as soon as November 2024 – one that could include fieldhouses. If voters were to approve a fall 2024 TCAPS bond – and if the bond were to include the new fieldhouses – TISC has said a project groundbreaking could occur as soon as spring 2025.

But nothing is set in stone just yet. TCAPS Superintendent John VanWagoner told the TCBN that the TCAPS board “has yet to decide if there will even be a bond, and has not identified (the fieldhouses) yet as a project within the pre-planning.”

Freshwater Research & Innovation Center
Within a few years, northern Michigan could be home to one of world’s leading blue economy hubs.

The World Bank defines the term “blue economy” as “the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem.” But the blue economy can also extend to other coastal communities, including those ringing the Great Lakes.

The Traverse City Freshwater Research & Innovation Center – a collaboration between Discovery Center & Pier, 20Fathoms, Michigan Technological University, Northwestern Michigan College and Traverse Connect – will eventually put a multi-million-dollar blue economy headquarters on the shores of West Grand Traverse Bay. The goal is to establish the Grand Traverse region as a global hub for applied freshwater innovation, offering research, education, commercialization, new business incubation, and startup acceleration programs.

The Freshwater Research & Innovation Center made big gains in 2023, scoring both a $1.6 million grant from the federal government and a $15 million allocation in Michigan’s 2024 state budget. Project partners have shared plans to break ground on the first phase of the West Bay headquarters in December 2025 – if not earlier. The $15 million in state budget money is coming from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which means it must be allocated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.

While much of the on-the-ground work on the Innovation Center won’t start for another year or two, 2024 will still be a crucial year for the project. Project partners still need to raise $11 million necessary to reach the $26 million price tag that’s been estimated for the first phase. That initial phase is projected to take 18 months and will include construction of a 35,000-square-foot building with research, lab, classroom, and business incubation space. A second phase could follow, though its uses, tenants, and timelines are still to be determined.

Even beyond the money, Discovery Center & Pier CEO Matt McDonough has said a lot of work needs to be done to get the project ready for groundbreaking.

“There’s environmental work, geotechnical work, demolition, engineering, architectural work,” McDonough told The Ticker in October. Watch for much of that legwork to occur in 2024.

One crucial step that needs to happen between now and the 2025 groundbreaking? The relocation of several nonprofit tenants that lease space at Discovery Center & Pier, including the Great Lakes Children’s Museum, Maritime Heritage Alliance, Inland Seas Education Association, and Traverse Area Community Sailing.

The Future of TIF
The future of a major funding mechanism for downtown infrastructure and improvements is likely to be determined in 2024.

The Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA) gets the majority of its funding from a tax increment financing (TIF). TIF is a state-authorized funding tool that “captures” taxes from local taxing jurisdictions (the city, county, Northwestern Michigan College and other entities that receive portions of property tax revenue) and uses it to fund downtown improvements.

The property tax generated within the district at the time of the TIF district’s formation is set as the “baseline”. As development occurs within the TIF District over time, the property values increase, generating additional tax revenue. That additional revenue (above the baseline) is what’s captured by the DDA.

TIF-97, the larger of the DDA’s two TIF plans, was approved in 1997 and is set to expire in 2027. The city commission as soon as April could vote to approve a new TIF plan, dubbed Moving Downtown Forward, that modifies certain attributes of TIF-97 based on community and stakeholder input. If and when the commission approves this new plan, it may be subject to a referendum vote by city residents who vigorously oppose any further use of TIF downtown. 

The future of TIF in the city has big implications for all parties involved. Supporters say TIF is the only way to ensure that the tax burden of improvements to downtown – which is used by hundreds of thousands of non-city residents each year – doesn’t fall on city residents alone. Detractors say downtown is in good shape and that the DDA no longer deserves to siphon taxes away from various taxing jurisdictions, which could put the money to good use elsewhere.

And that’s just a sampling of what we’re keeping our eye on in 2024. Other topics include:

ARPA Projects

NMC Eying Benzie County

New Mental Health Resources

Terry Beia, Kingsley, and the Arcade

Marijuana Shops

Local Farming on the Brink

Election 2024

The Battle for Sutter Road

Regional Office Space Usage

Altus Brands 

Subscribe to the TCBN and get all the 2024 previews and more here.