TC bids out soon for park revamp

Region

PLAY AREA TO BE NAMED AFTER MILLIKEN

A water-themed play area named after former Gov. William Milliken will be a big part of the city's redesigned bayfront.

A "waterscape" play area will demonstrate the water cycle using shallow pools, small streams and a raining tube sculpture. It's part of the city's plans to renovate Clinch Park, starting with fall construction.

The project received $150,000 from DTE Energy Foundation. DTE Energy's float in the July 14 Cherry Royale Parade will be inspired by the proposed play area.

The attraction is named for Milliken, of Traverse City, who is cited for his environmental work. The play area will include displays that explain the water cycle and its environmental importance.

Related Photos

Kayla Mannino, left, and Paige Price walk across the brick plaza from the tunnel under Grandview Parkway from Cass Street. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
Traverse City Planner Russ Soyring explains details of a bayfront park redesign project, expected to begin construction after Labor Day. Record-Eagle/Vanessa McCray

June 21, 2012

TC bids out soon for park revamp

City ready to dive into $2.5 million renovation

By Vanessa McCray vmccray@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Thu Jun 21, 2012, 07:14 AM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — Scattered groups of people passed through Clinch Park on a recent cloudy, muggy afternoon.

A man walked a dog; volleyball players bumped a ball. A few beach-goers lazed in the sand near the water's edge, and others launched a colorful kayak into the bay.

This will be the final summer for Clinch Park as residents now know it. Traverse City is readying to begin a roughly $2.5 million bayfront renovation. Construction will begin after Labor Day, and city officials hope to soon seek bids for the work.

"In very short order we are going to go out for bid," said city Planner Russ Soyring. "We're ready to submit them ... as soon as we get the OK."

The project awaits approvals from various government agencies and grant funders, including the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for a $450,800 Natural Resources Trust Fund grant.

Steve DeBrabander, DNR manager of grants management, said his agency reviews "the project that is going to get bid out" to make sure it "still represents" the project initially awarded the trust fund grant. Bayfront plans changed and expanded since the city received that grant. DeBrabander said the DNR's review should be finished in a couple of weeks or sooner.

The city also needs permits from the state Department of Environmental Quality and the Army Corps of Engineers for work along the water's edge, Soyring said. A $100,000 federal grant awaits approval from the National Park Service and then finalization between the city and DNR, DeBrabander said.

Project financing also includes $1 million from Traverse City Light & Power and funds from the Downtown Development Authority, including money to renovate the Cass Street tunnel under Grandview Parkway. Improvements to the south side tunnel entrance will be bid out separately, as will the bid for a bathroom and concession pavilion.

The DDA wanted to redo an initial tunnel design that took out stairs on the Cass Street side. City staff worked up a new plan that includes steps as well as a ramp, said DDA Executive Director Bryan Crough. Lighting that currently drops down from the top of the tunnel also will be changed.

"(There's) only so much we can do with the existing space, but lighting will be a big improvement," Crough said.

Plans also feature a kayak launch accessible by those in wheelchairs, routing the bike trail through the middle of the park, Adirondack chairs and tables, terraced grounds leading to the beach, and a children's play area. The Gov. William G. Milliken Waterscape is a play space intended to interpret the water cycle. It includes a splash pad, which will use chlorinated, solar-heated water, and nearby swings and other playground equipment.

Michelle Kalbfleisch, of Traverse City, welcomed the addition of park amenities for children. She brought her two daughters to the park Tuesday, and the family frequently uses the beach and the bike path. She said there's not a lot more to do since the city removed the mini-train and zoo, decisions which still upset her.

"It would be wonderful to have more family orientated things in the downtown," she said, though she wonders how children's activities will balance with occasional festivals held at the bayfront that include alcohol.

The city scheduled 35 days for companies to respond once it requests bids. The fall construction time line is starting to get crunched, and it's "critically important that we get started," Soyring said.

Officials want to complete the project, which is only the first phase of a proposed wide-scale bayfront redesign, by Memorial Day.