Is Petoskey Becoming Traverse City 2.0?
A housing development full of condos costing over $1.8 million is sure to only bring the worst sort of people to town
Petoskey — Whenever a new residential building goes up in a Northern town, the reaction from the locals is almost always the same. Squinted eyes and skepticism. The orange cones, the overturned soil, the trucks, the trees coming down, and the mini billboard out front designed to give everyone a little taste of what’s to come. It’s all viewed as a worrying harbinger of unwanted change.
That sounds like fuddy-duddy-ism, I know. But it isn’t entirely. The towns on the lake Up North are quaint, beautiful, old, and almost every new build is the exact opposite. True, a new build can’t be an old house. But a new place can be designed to blend naturally with its surroundings. Curiously, they almost never are. The new buildings are almost always ugly eyesores sullying villages that remind us of more human times.
New builds also mean more people are coming, and that’s not always a good thing. Yes, we need tourists in the summer, and a certain in-flow of new arrivals every so often is good and natural for a town. It means a place is attractive and desirable. But look at what’s happened to Traverse City. I hate to say it, but I hate going to Traverse City. It’s not a lake town anymore. It’s something much worse.
In Petoskey, there’s a lot of construction going on, and it’s not all exactly encouraging. There are more buildings going up right now than any time in the past five years. Driving by some of these sites gives me somewhat of a sick feeling. It feels a little like an early stage Traverse City 2.0.
Not all these new builds are equally worrying. The story is a little more complex. There is an actual housing shortage on Little Traverse Bay, and it’s not related to new arrivals who want to buy $750,000 homes. Reasonably priced housing is missing. A common complaint for many business owners is staff shortages. Simply put, normal working people can’t afford to live here, so there aren’t enough workers for the businesses here. That’s a real problem if you want your town to thrive.
What we are seeing right now in Petoskey are two kinds of new buildings going up. The difference between them and their potential impacts are stark. Some are critical for the life of the town, and some will most likely attract the worst kind of people.
Let us take a look at an example of each type of new build currently going up in Petoskey.
The Block at Petoskey
The Block at Petoskey is a brand new apartment complex on Standish Avenue, just west of Bear Creek River. It’s in a slow part of town, right at the edge where the houses trickle off and into the more commercial area approaching Meijer. Across the street are a tanning salon and an auto repair shop. The Block at Petoskey is set to include a gym, walking trails, a yoga studio, and a clubhouse.
To be honest, The Block at Petoskey has nicer amenities than any apartment complex I’ve ever lived in. It includes just about everything you might want with a 2 bed-2 bath unit going for $1,724 per month. Aesthetically, the Block at Petoskey is okay. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible. It’s just fine. It’s not real bonafide cheap, but it’s not crazy either, and it’s certainly not luxury pricing. It’s built and priced for people who work for a living. It’s a needed development which will benefit the town.
The Summit Over Bay Harbor
The Summit Over Bay Harbor is an absurd development set to tower over US-31, just north of Bay Harbor. Based on the highly produced sleek simulations found on their website, the units might best be described as modern luxury. They are quite frankly, soulless expensive Lego slop. They have absolutely nothing in common with any of the traditional architecture of the area. They say Northern Michigan about as much as a cactus does. They start at—yes, start at—$1.8 million.
Based on their map, they are planning almost 75 units. It’s a very nice area up here, but is it nice enough for 75 $1.8 million units? Eh, I don’t know about that. I’m not sure there is enough capital here to support 75 year-round residents who want to shell out $1.8 million for what amounts to a modern condo overlooking 31 and Bay Harbor. The traditional type of Northern resident (seasonal or year-round) who wants to spend $1.8 million will generally seek out a historical home or build something more culturally in-line with the area.
Say what you want about Bay Harbor, but at least they try. There is something a little off about it there only because it’s impossible to build something new that also feels organic and old. But the spirit and direction is right. The hope is correct at Bay Harbor. At least the homes feel like they are attempting some kind of organic integration into the historical architecture and general spirit of the area.
The Summit Over Bay Harbor is most likely not going to be for the traditional kinds of residents of Little Traverse Bay. I very much doubt that the majority of the units will be lived in year-round. Most will be short-term rentals. I suspect the units will function more as investments for people who don’t live here. There will be no positive cultural impact.
Keeping the lake towns as the lake towns we love is an extremely delicate operation. Balancing new arrivals, housing, jobs, local culture, trying to remain vital while not destroying the reason we want to be here in the first place is like balancing on a tightrope. It needs to be done very carefully.
Petoskey needs apartments like The Block at Petoskey. These more reasonably priced places will certainly help to keep working residents here and the town alive year-round. Petoskey doesn’t need the soulless investment units of The Summit over Bay Harbor unless we want to become Traverse City 2.0.
And we certainly don’t.
