Planning commission approves 137‑room hotel at 124 West Front Street with conditions

The Traverse City Planning Commission on Aug. 5 approved a site plan for a four‑story, 137‑guestroom hotel at 124 West Front Street, subject to 12 staff conditions governing streetscape coordination, utilities, stormwater treatment, floodplain review and pedestrian access. The project is proposed by Great Lakes Capital and the applicant’s civil engineering consultant, Dusty Christiansen of Mansfield Land Use Consultants, presented the plans.

Project summary: the approved plan calls for a 137‑room hotel with an underground parking deck served by valet (staff noted the agreed parking count is 68 below grade), a restaurant, café, bar and small conference amenities. The hotel footprint will span three parcels that the developer will combine into one. The site sits at a slope down to the Boardman River and is in an area where historic contamination required city‑installed district stormwater treatment; staff said all stormwater must be routed through the aqua‑swirl treatment device because ground infiltration could mobilize contaminants.

Staff conditions (summary): the approval includes staff’s recommended conditions, which the commission adopted as part of the motion. Conditions require the applicant to: coordinate streetscape design with the Downtown Development Authority (including street trees, sidewalk heating and a bike/mobility hub); reimburse the city for any disturbed parking‑ or lighting‑related infrastructure; work with engineering, municipal utilities and Traverse City Light & Power on service…