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TRAVERSE CITY ASYLUM FINDS A SECOND LIFE
07-23-2012
NOT SO CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS:
TRAVERSE CITY ASYLUM FINDS A SECOND LIFE
TRAVERSE CITY, MI– When Ray Minervini agreed to take over the redevelopment of Traverse City’s 117-year-old mental asylum , more than a few people thought the idea was, well… crazy.
The job was to transform a campus of abandoned, decaying buildings into a thriving “village” of shops, restaurants, homes and offices – the largest such project in the country – without destroying the site’s distinctive historical and architectural features. It had already proven too big a task for several other companies, and the people in this northern Michigan resort town were reluctantly beginning to talk about tearing the stately old structures down.
Ten years later, Minervini is still far from finished – but nobody is questioning his sanity. Still far from finished, his Village at Grand Traverse Commons is already one of the city’s star attractions. Set in a 500-acre expanse of forest and meadow on the city’s western edge, the tall castle-like buildings of the former asylum are now a bustling residential and commercial center that’s wildly popular with local residents and visitors alike.
“It’s been quite an adventure,” says the developer, who can often be found wandering through the project’s many active construction areas, hardhat on his head and measuring tape in his hand. “And it’s not over yet.”
In 1885, when the state of Michigan was looking for a place to locate a new asylum, they chose Traverse City because they believed that fresh air and beautiful surroundings could ease the sufferings of the mentally ill. The hospital became a [Back to Press Releases Main]