Traverse City Record-Eagle

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  • Jan-Michael Stump

    101 NORTH PARK LANE
November 20, 2008

Work begins on long-vacant lot downtown

Site will house retail, office and living spaces

By MELISSA DOMSIC

TRAVERSE CITY -- Five stories of retail, office space and penthouses will fill the long-vacant and well-known "hole" at the corner of Front and Park streets.

Initial work is already under way, and developer Thom Darga expects his project will be complete by the end of 2009.

"Everybody is tired of looking at the hole," said Darga, of Suttons Bay-based Big Olives LLC. "The project has been welcomed by everybody government-wise, but people are welcoming it as well. The interest has been staggering."

Crews worked this week at 101 N. Park St. to clean up the site in preparation of construction. Darga plans to hold a ground-breaking ceremony next month, followed by foundation improvement work. Actual construction should begin in February.

The site's former landowner and would-be developer Roy Henderson sold the property, foundations, building drawings, designs, permits and construction materials to Darga.

Henderson erected foundations and fenced the property, but the poor economy and disputes over architecture and building height left the site vacant since 2001.

Activity on the site is "long overdue," said Bryan Crough, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority.

"We're very pleased Thom is pursuing it," he said. "We'll take a blighted piece of property and make it an active part of our community."

Darga isn't new to the downtown development scene. He used to work for a construction company involved in Henderson's project, and was contracted for renovations at the State Theatre.

He's optimistic for his latest venture despite the tough economy.

The 70,000 square-foot building will have retail stores on the first floor, offices on the second, third and fourth floors, and a dozen penthouses on the fifth floor. Two dozen underground parking spaces will serve the tenants.

It's a condominium development, meaning the commercial and residential tenants will own their units.

"It's a departure from the way downtown is done," Darga said.

But there's an appeal and pride in ownership, he said. He'd also rather have multiple owners responsible to their own banks and to the success of the project, rather than all the risk resting with a single landlord.

"There's been strong interest -- waffled a little bit when the market went goofy there -- but I'm not just mildly optimistic, I'm going forward," he said.

Local buyers have already spoken for five of the twelve penthouses. Prices will range around $450,000 to $500,000, and owners will design their own units, Darga said.

He also has one large and a couple small retail businesses interested, but wouldn't provide details until they're confirmed.

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