TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN — Commongrounds, a real estate cooperative, announced today that they exceeded their goal of 250 early bird owners. It also announced its first tenants to join the project planned for Eighth Street in downtown Traverse City. The building will have a riverside café (run by Higher Grounds Trading Company), a 150 seat listening room (run by Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology), and a coworking and community innovation hub (run by Commonplace). The third and fourth floors will offer 24 units of workforce housing.
“The whole idea behind Commongrounds is to create a space that is only possible through the connections and collaborations of people that deeply care for this community,” said Kate Redman, Project Director and Commonplace founder, “We could not ask for a better group of folks to make it a reality.”
“Higher Grounds sees real potential in Commongrounds becoming the foundational pillar of a major city redevelopment project (8th Street) with smart growth development as a necessary strategy for the construction of a healthy community,” said Chris Treter of Higher Grounds Trading Company.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime for us to create a small but mighty performance space in Traverse City,” said Brad Kik of Crosshatch, “We’re planning to host everything from high school punk rock shows to high end listening room concerts with both local and travelling musicians. We get to partner with May Erlewine, and we get to work with a whole crew of people we deeply admire. We’re so looking forward to this!”
Along with other tenant partners, Iron Fish Distillery and Commongrounds will be selecting a restaurant partner who shares excitement about offering local food and craft beverages.
“From the day we learned about the aims and community building goals of Commongrounds, we knew this was a vision that not only aligns with the values we care about at Iron Fish Distillery, but also a totally fun learning opportunity to join other like minded friends in Traverse City to make it happen,” said Richard Anderson, co-founder of the family-owned farm distillery located south of Traverse City in Thompsonville.
Commongrounds exceeded their goal of 250 early bird owners, with help from an event at The Workshop Brewing Company. Early bird owners receive exclusive project updates, lifetime recognition, and a VIP ticket to the community investment kickoff party, featuring local musician, May Erlewine. Early bird owners also get first opportunity to participate in the crowdfunding investment campaign, launching in 2019. People interested in becoming owners can still sign-up at www.commongrounds.coop/early-bird-owner/.
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About Commongrounds
Commongrounds is a real estate cooperative focused on making the community we love even better, starting with 416 Eighth Street. The cooperative’s pilot project is a four story mixed-use building in downtown Traverse City, scheduled to break ground in Spring 2019, with 9-12 months for construction. The first two floors are an integrated food/beverage, concert/arts, childcare, and office/coworking space designed as a hub for collaboration, innovation, and creative endeavors that serve community needs. The third and fourth floors have workforce housing designed to provide housing for people working in the Eighth Street corridor. Learn more at http://www.commongrounds.coop.
