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A former coal ash dump site could become an all-electric-powered housing development with community green space over the next few years if developers’ plans proceed as expected.
Traverse City-based LivWell Homes and West Bloomfield Township-based First Holding Management Co. are proposing a 73-unit housing community with public trails, playgrounds and a community garden at the nearly 50-acre former Bayside Power Plant coal fly ash dump site at 4728 Cedar Run Road in Garfield Township.
The Traverse City Light & Power Board, which owned the property, approved the property sale to LivWell Homes for $850,000 on Dec. 10 after determining its proposal met the board’s sustainable building and landscape preservation criteria.
Plans call for more than half of the property to be restored with native plantings and preserved for “community-centered green space,” which would include a garden, playground, dog park, gazebo, picnic area and public parking.
Kotlarz said they are excited to proceed with what they see as “a model development” that gives new life to a site once contaminated by fossil fuel waste.
“We’re very excited to be given the opportunity to work on something of this nature,” he said. “To be able to be a part of turning (what) was once a dump site into a beautiful development with large green space and sustainability components … keeping this thing alive for generations to come — it’s an honor.”
The TCLP board decommissioned the property as a disposal site in 1995. About 33.5 acres are developable, while the remaining 16 acres in the center of the lot were sealed off with an underground lining and cap to contain the contamination. Coal ash, a widespread industrial contaminant produced from the burning of coal, includes toxic mercury, cadmium and arsenic, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Kotlarz said the developers do not anticipate additional remediation needed in the capped area, as EGLE certified the containment work as complete back in the ’90s.
LivWell and First Holding Management Co.’s plans call for housing on the perimeter with the public recreation areas in the center.
Kotlarz said the housing price ranges are yet to be determined, but he hopes it will reach a mix of incomes, with the townhomes at a more affordable price point than the single-family homes because of the higher density.
The conversion of this property dovetails with initiatives around the country to convert former coal plant properties to sustainable new uses. The Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center in 2023 launched a “power plants to parklands” initiative to work with utilities, municipalities and conservation groups to study the potential reuse of former Michigan coal plant properties as public parkland and renewable energy production.
In response to community input, Traverse City Light & Power Board staff in early 2024 sought requests for proposals from public or nonprofit entities to turn its former coal dump site into a public park, but did not receive any takers. The board then created an ad hoc committee to focus on finding a private buyer that would align with its goals for the property. The committee listed the parcel in August.
John Taylor, TCLP board chair and a member of the property disposition committee, said during the Dec. 10 discussion on the parcel sale that, from his perspective, the developers’ proposal checks all the boxes.
“We went after a lot of objectives that seemed almost impossible to reconcile,” he said.
These included “high-value” public uses like recreational trails, affordable housing and green building techniques such as all-electric utilities. The committee also wanted to use the sale to help fund TCLP’s climate action plan as well as bring revenue back to the township and county by way of improved property tax values.
“I look back at all that, and I think staff basically pulled off all of those items, and part of that’s because of a very thoughtful developer,” Taylor said.
Kotlarz, whose firm currently builds about 10 to 12 houses per year, said he had been searching for the ideal piece of land for many years for a larger-scale development that would be “harmonious with nature” and less “cookie cutter” in design than most subdivisions in the area.
“We’re talking about introducing … possibly a Scandinavian-style architecture, something that uses natural materials,” he said.
As an outdoors lover and trail user himself, he also wanted the neighborhood to be open to the public.
Kotlarz said he will handle design and site planning, while First Holdings Management Co. — which has experience with large-scale housing development — will work to assemble the capital stack. He said the project team may seek state and local brownfield financing, though no applications have been submitted.
“Since a big chunk of this … will be a community asset, that is something we feel that we could get some assistance with,” Kotlarz said. “If we do get the assistance, it’s really going to be helpful for us to move forward with the project, because we’ll have the funding that we need to (maintain) the park and green space component of the development.”
He said the developers hope to be able to start phased construction later this year or by early 2026, depending on approvals. The project is expected to take several years to complete.
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