Traverse City Record-Eagle

Grand Traverse County

August 29, 2009

City: Parking deck 'in our court'

Officials mull public parking deck on W. Front

BY Sheri McWhirter

TRAVERSE CITY -- A proposed parking deck on West Front Street is at a standstill while Traverse City officials decide whether to participate.

Local developer Gerald Snowden plans to build RiverWest, a mixed-use complex at the corner of West Front and Pine streets. The site remains virtually untouched while city officials decide whether to invest in public parking there, or allow the project to take root as a private enterprise.

"I told the city that if they were interested in public parking on the west side of Front Street, I'd be happy to cooperate," Snowden said. "They've expressed some interest, so I'm giving them a little bit of time to see what they come up with."

The Traverse City Downtown Development Authority Board discussed the RiverWest development's status at a meeting last week.

"The ball is in our court," said R. Ben Bifoss, city manager.

City officials are working to determine project cost and land value, plus figure out public funding options and amounts.

Possibilities include brownfield tax credits and state and local tax capture, should the public parking project come to fruition, Bifoss said.

Snowden may sell the city some property at the development site for public parking. The city currently leases about seven dozen parking spaces there.

Construction plans call for a commercial office building, parking structure, residential units, a small restaurant and cinema. Plans were modified "a bit," Snowden said, but he remained tight-lipped about what changes are in store.

It's projected to create upwards of 175 new jobs and generate about $33 million in new capital investment.

The site will be home to the planned mixed-use development, even if city officials don't pursue public parking there, Snowden said.

"We'll adjust accordingly. The site will be developed eventually," he said.

Publicly funded parking on West Front Street is not a new idea.

Voters in August 2006 rejected a bond proposal of up to $16 million to fund a public parking deck on Federated Properties' proposed development. Snowden entered the fray in early 2006 when he proposed his own parking plan with a cheaper price tag.

City commissioners never heard Snowden's proposal and opted for the project city voters shot down.

Meanwhile, the city issued a request for proposals from contractors seeking to bid on a public parking deck project in Old Town. About 40 construction companies collected bid packets.

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