Radio Centre / Park Street Redevelopment

Site History
Redevelopment of the property located on 314 East Front Street in Traverse City began in 2001, at the site of an abandoned gas station and former car dealership. The site was heavily contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which are known carcinogens and can cause an array of negative health effects to both humans and wildlife. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality granted the GTCBRA $661,800 for environmental cleanup and approved $161,832 in tax increment financing.

Redevelopment
Since then, the site has been safely and successfully cleaned due to the collaborative efforts of the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority (DDA), local businessman Ross Biederman and the GTCBRA. The site has been transformed into a four-story retail and office building complete with a publicly owned and operated $8 million parking deck built by the DDA. The taxable value has appreciated by 900% since 2001 (see Figure 9), and the entire project has created more than 70 jobs. View a photo collage of the completed project site (JPG).

Project Success
The private investment for this project was over $10 million, with the Brownfield plan projected to be completed in 2026. A conservative estimate would reveal that the increase in tax revenues is substantial. As this project is located within the DDA TIF Plan, the state school tax and the Traverse Bay Intermediate School District (TBISD) will recognize the increase in tax base at the end of the Brownfield financial plan. The direct benefit to the TBISD is clear, in 1999 the TBISD received $1,579.91 in yearly taxes. In 2026, the projected yearly taxes for TBISD are $21,011.