TRAVERSE CITY — A public plaza nearly three decades in the making cleared a key hurdle Tuesday night, as the Traverse City Planning Commission unanimously found the Rotary Square design consistent with the city’s master plan.
The vote moves the project one step closer to breaking ground on a long-envisioned gathering space at the southeast corner of State and Union Streets.
“Here we are, 29 years later, finally getting to it,” DDA Executive Director Harry Burkholder told commissioners. “I think what we found is a really good balance — let’s make it active, but not too active.”
The concept, developed by Grand Rapids-based firm Progressive Companies, draws its design language from the Petoskey Stone, using organic, curving forms to organize the roughly one-block site.
At its center sits a large natural turf lawn, framed by trees and native plantings. Surrounding it are a wood slat canopy designed to double as a small performance stage, a raised overlook with a slide, swing benches, dispersed seating areas, and a rocky stormwater channel that channels rainwater through the park as a landscape feature.
At the plaza’s southern edge, the plan extends across an adjacent alley toward the Boardman-Ottaway River and the city’s FishPass project, using removable bollards to close the alley to vehicles during events while maintaining everyday access.
“From the beginning, this rose to the top one or two things we heard from the community,” said Jason Ball, senior planner with Progressive Companies. “We can’t miss the opportunity to make that connection to the river and FishPass via Rotary Square.”
The design reflects more than a year of community engagement that gathered over 1,000 points of feedback through a public survey, multiple stakeholder meetings, five pop-up events at locations including the YMCA and Oryana Community Co-op, and two public open houses.
Respondents consistently prioritized natural materials, year-round programming, and a connection to the river over a more urban, hardscaped design.
The project has roots stretching back to 1997, when a “Civic Square” was first included in the DDA’s Tax Increment Financing and Development Plan. Funding for the site’s acquisition came in part from a $1 million grant from Rotary Charities as part of their centennial celebration, along with a state appropriation secured in 2018 and 2019 to purchase a bank building that formerly occupied the site. No public dollars have been spent on planning and site preparation to date, Burkholder said.
The site falls within the city’s Commercial Core future land use designation, where public parks are a permitted use under C-4 zoning.
The DDA said the design aligns with five of the six guiding principles in the city’s master plan, including stewarding natural resources, honoring community heritage, and encouraging vibrancy in commercial districts.
Commissioners largely praised the project, though some raised questions about long-term maintenance costs and the increase in impervious surfaces compared to the site’s current condition.
“These are like the perfect projects,” said Planning Commission Chairperson Anna Marie Dituri. “These are what young people want. They’re meant for the future and in alignment with the master plan.”
The alley connection to FishPass, which would convert a portion of existing parking into public space along the river, requires a separate decision by the full City Commission, tentatively scheduled for March 9th.
The DDA noted the plaza is designed to move forward with or without that connection.
Following Planning Commission approval, the project still requires a final vote from the City Commission before formal construction bids can be released.
A contractor must then be selected, with final authorization to spend funds required from both the DDA Board and the City Commission.
If the approvals stay on schedule, construction could begin as early as this summer, with a potential alternative start in spring 2027.