Officials Address Swirling Rumors
It's has been a part of Front Street in Traverse City for decades, but the reputation of the Whiting Hotel is largely dependent on who ask about it.
Some say it has provided valuable low income housing, others have fought to close it down.
But it's not where the hotel has been. Its not even where it is now. It's where it maybe going that is raising hope and at the same time concerns.
Bob Sutherland the owner of Cherry Republic is proposing an 8 million dollar development in the Whiting Building. He tells me he is primarily interested in the first floor for an expanded retail and restaurant setting, and the basement. But the building has two floors above that. He says he could use that space to create affordable housing options at rents below just about anything downtown.
So how he is going to transform all of the space to meet his needs, and the needs of people looking for housing? He is proposing using both private and public funding. That has raised a lot of rumors and concerns about the use of public money like Brownfield redevelopment dollars and grants and funds. Viewers called wondering why would public dollars be used to supplement the investment by the owner into a private business?
As it turns out, it’s a pretty common practice, and one that Traverse City Manager Ben Bifoss is in support of. Bifoss told me "from my perception as city manager, this is an 8 million dollar investment, green development, jobs, affordable housing and it spends no local tax dollars. We send our dimes to Lansing if we can get some dollars back that's a good thing."
But its not really dimes and dollars, more like 2.2 million dollars. That's how much of the total price tag will be covered by the public Where exactly is the so called public money coming from?
Of the 2.2. Million dollars, 1.6 million comes from Brownfield redevelopment which is not limited to cleaning up contaminated sites and is actually intended to help projects like this.
Genesee County Treasurer Dan Kildee who is consulting on the project says "that's the nature of Brownfield is to go private, the idea is to add public value to private development to achieve certain goals of a public nature."
The rest of the public money would come from grants available to any organization which develops low incoming housing, uses alternative energy, puts in a green roof or qualities for dozens of others grants and credits.
Supporters are quick to point out that none of the money for the project comes from local taxes but opponents still have concerns and wonder if the 1.6 million dollars in Brownfield money should serve a bigger purpose.
Bifoss addresses those concerns by saying if the money isn't spent here it will be spent somewhere else, and that this project could serve as a template for other similar projects. Bifoss says if any other person wants to bring the city a similar project the city would be willing to work with them and evaluate whether a similar approach made sense.
