A park on the shores of Grand Traverse Bay will see considerable revitalization thanks to a grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund.
The fund's board approved a grant of $450,800 that will go to the
City of Traverse City to implement the first phase of its Bayfront Plan, which focuses on the revitalization of Clinch Park.
Improving the park, the city hopes, will attract families and residents to the beachfront with usable, family-friendly features like universal access, better crossings and trail systems, the addition of a retaining wall embankment, a universally-accessible boat launch, a splash pad and a natural playscape.
The park is one of the area's busiest beaches, hosting thousands of people a day in the summer. As such, there were plenty of public comments on the improvements proposed.
"After many public input sessions with the 'Your Bay, Your Say' process and the 2009 Traverse City Bayfront Plan, it's great to finally have some momentum behind us to actually implement our vision for the bayfront," says Traverse City Mayor Chris Bzdok.
He says attracting residents and tourists to the park, close to the city's downtown, will ultimately be a part of the city's plan to promote economic development based on the area's natural resources.
"Revitalizing the entire Traverse City bayfront will further define our community and attract residents and businesses to move here," says Bzdok.
The project was a 50-50 match, for a total of $901,600, with the other half of the money coming from the Downtown Development Authority.
Writer: Sam EgglestonSource: Chris Bzdok, City of Traverse City
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