|
|
| |
|
The Village at Grand Traverse Commons By Susan Sandell The Traverse City State Hospital campus was operated by the State of Michigan from 1885 until 1989. The historic psychiatric hospital operated as a self-contained community, and included an operating farm where patients grew food and tended animals, facilities to build and mend furniture and machinery, a power plant to supply the campus, and various types of housing targeted to patients’ individual needs. The campus buildings are located on hundreds of acres of wooded park property, but are located within walking and bicycling distance of downtown Traverse City. The most remarkable building on the campus, and perhaps one of the most notable buildings in the entire State of Michigan, is known as Building 50. It’s a utilitarian name for an incredible Victorian-Italianate brick structure that is one of the few remaining historic Kirkbride buildings in the United States, and the only one in Michigan. Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride was a physician who believed that mental health institutions need not look institutional. His buildings were designed to promote a healthy environment and respect for mentally ill patients in a sanctuary-like setting. Patient involvement in farming and other activities was intended to help their healing. Adaptive Reuse Plans Building 50, which is on the National Trust’s register of significant historic buildings, is a massive 388,000-square-foot, 19th-century structure that housed patients and staff offices. Because of its size, historical significance, and central position on the campus, redevelopment efforts are focused on adaptive reuse of this building. Building 50 is now owned by The Minervini Group, which will preserve all of the structure and adapt it to new uses. The development, known as The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, will be part of a neighborhood and serve as the town square at its center. The historic building will contain a mix of uses, including commercial, retail and office. Apartments will also be built. Current tenants in the restored sections of Building 50 include Ristorante Stella, Gallery 50, The Village Family Practice and Harbor Home Health Care offices. The Minervini Group has deposits for 135,000 square feet of residential space and 26,000 square feet of commercial or office space. The next phase of work is an 80,000-square-foot development called
the Mercato Phase, a mixed-use collection of specialty shops, food markets,
offices and residences. The Mercato Phase alone is expected to result
in approximately 86 commercial jobs. Investment in this project phase
is estimated to reach $15 million. Total investment in Building 50 will
exceed $40 million. The interior, exterior and mechanical systems of Building 50 were coated with paint in which lead is found in unusually high concentrations. The lead paint is now peeling off the walls, trim and steam pipes, and lead paint dust coats the floors of the historic building. Lead paint abatement, at a cost of approximately $10 per square foot, is needed for 700,000 square feet of wall space. Asbestos pipe wrap and insulation hangs off obsolete steam pipes and mechanical equipment. Hundreds of 8-by-11-foot patient rooms are being enlarged for more contemporary uses, and the plaster walls and wood trim, damaged by years of exposure to weather and old age, must be stripped. In addition to the lead and asbestos problems, the grounds have areas where soil is contaminated with lead paint from the building exterior and contamination from vehicle and machine storage and repairs. Grant Funding Grand Traverse County was awarded a $1 million brownfield redevelopment grant in September 2003. This money has been spent on an environmental investigation of targeted areas outside Building 50 and on lead abatement. The county applied for an additional grant in fall 2004. This $1 million
grant, approved by the DEQ director in February 2005, will allow continued
progress at Building 50. Most of this money will spent during fiscal
year 2005 to allow the Mercato to open as scheduled in spring 2006.
The grant will be used to: The grant will also be used for due-care response activities required for safe use of the grounds. Other Michigan DEQ grant funding is unavailable. Building 50 is within
a tax-free Renaissance Zone, which will not allow capture of property
taxes to repay a brownfield loan. There are no other known public funds
for lead paint and asbestos abatement. Susan Sandell is project administrator at the Michigan DEQ.
|
|
Brownfield News is the official publication of the National
Brownfield Association |
© 2005 Environomics Communications. 5440 North Cumberland Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60656
|