Elberta land eyed for preservation
Jul. 5—ELBERTA — Long-vacant property on Elberta's waterfront could be preserved in part and redeveloped in others if a local land conservancy can bring together a multimillion-dollar plan.
The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy has a $19.5 million purchase agreement for 35 acres spread across several parcels, according to the nonprofit Director of Communications and Engagement Jennifer Jay. It includes land south of where Betsie River meets Lake Michigan, and other property east of Elberta Historic Waterfront Park.
Land at the river mouth borders Elberta Beach and could be a future village park, while the land conservancy would keep an adjacent 10 acres of steep, wooded dunes, Jay said. That would align with various other conservancy projects in the region, including Arcadia Dunes and Elberta Dunes South Natural Area.
"Protection of those globally unique dunes is pretty top-of-our-list of important conservation efforts," she said.
Land east of Waterfront Park would be set aside for redevelopment, Jay said.
Much of the property, save the dunes, were industrial sites in the past — a fuel depot-turned-asphalt storage plant sat at the river mouth until 2004, and land to the east was once a railyard, railcar ferry docks, a cannery and more, as previously reported.
It's all being sold as a package deal, and the conservancy would have to make considerable private fundraising efforts for much of the money needed, Jay said.
Several details are in the works, and the conservancy board has until Aug. 28 to approve the project, Jay stated in an email.
Conservancy Executive Director Glen Chown was set to present the plans to Elberta village planning commissioners Wednesday, Jay said. No decisions were expected, and she stressed the importance of gathering community input for the project.
Past development plans for the land in question stirred considerable outcry as has been previously reported.
In early 2022, Richard Knorr International pitched a 1.5 million-square-foot structure at the river mouth to include condos, hotel rooms, a spa, retail and more. The company also proposed more hotel rooms, rental condos and employee housing for property east of Waterfront Park.
The developer withdrew the project after the village proposed — but never enacted — a moratorium on planned unit developments like what RKI proposed until it could update its zoning ordinance.
Jay said it's not unusual for the land conservancy to take on plans that include, in part, redevelopment. The nonprofit's initial charge was to balance land preservation with future growth, so the hope is to save the land with the highest conservation value. And redeveloping the property east of Waterfront Park makes sense as municipal water and sewer are already on-site.
"To be sure, there are places that absolutely should not have any development, and we protect those places as sanctuaries," she said.
Ryan Fiebing serves on both the planning commission and village council, and said he's looking forward to learning more about the proposal.
There's considerable interest in finding a new use for the empty land, and it's mentioned extensively in the village master plan, Fiebing said. He agreed that past ideas have come and gone, including the one in 2022.
"We're really excited about the idea of having a more community engagement-led development process that hopefully aligns more with what I think the master plan states," he said.
