A lesson for Salem: how a Michigan town remade its state hospital

Tear it down! Aside from one building, that's what City of Salem and state government officials are moving toward on the historic North Campus of the Oregon State Hospital. 

But Traverse City, Michigan has shown there's another way. 

Salem, Oregon doesn't need to follow the disturbing path I talked about in yesterday's blog post, "North Campus of Salem's State Hospital slated for demolition."

I learned about the way-cool redevelopment of the Traverse City State Hospital into The Village at Grand Traverse Commons via some comments on a Salem Community Vision Facebook post about the North Campus demolition plan.

Sure, its a different town, different state hospital, different people involved.

But spending some time this morning learning about how equally, if not more, decrepit hospital buildings were saved from the wrecking ball offers some important lessons for Salem. (The photo above is the signature hospital structure that has been renovated by the developer of The Village at Grand Traverse Commons.)

I watched a four minute video about the redevelopment. Very instructive. Made me wish we could clone Ray Minervini of The Minerveni Group and bring him to Salem. 

In the video, Minervini talks about going to Italy and seeing beautiful historic buildings that are many hundreds of years old still very much in use. He also speaks of the necessity of reinventing or repurposing old buildings, in much the same way as people find new directions for themselves as they age.

Have a look.

 

The Traverse City State Hospital was slated for demolition, just as ours in Salem is, after the buildings fell into disrepair. Fortunately, Minervini was able to buy the entire property for $1. Then...

After putting in over $60 million, it's now a showpiece for the area. Once it's complete, the owners expect that approximately 1,800 people will live or work there.

Curbed.com's Chris Berger put together a post that shows off what is now swanky, "homes, offices, and independent businesses like a bakery, a cheesecake store, and a wine bar."

And, yeah, the Traverse City State Hospital has a bunch of tunnels connecting various buildings, just like the old Salem State Hospital does.

I was impressed to hear Ray Minervini say that the structures he bought for $1 (along with the land) were designed to last for 500 years. It bothered him to see them torn down after 127 years or so.

Now, like I said, the situation here in Salem is different from Traverse City's. But it's crazy to think that we can't learn from how an old rundown state hospital in Michigan was renovated into a creative, attractive, vibrant mixed-use development -- apparently without demolishing any buildings.

The property was sold for nothing (OK, one dollar) to someone who made a commitment to put his money, and that of other investors, into a redevelopment that would make the community proud.

So far, Salem city officials are heading down a less appealing path: tear everything down except for one historic building; put millions (likely) of public dollars into the demolition, tree removals, and other work needed to make the property "shovel ready"; and then try to find a developer who will construct something or other on the bare land.

I'm tired of Salem being content with something or other.

We've got a depressing "anything is better than what we have now" mentality among both local elected officials and City of Salem leaders like the mayor and city manager. Traverse City made their old state hospital into an economic powerhouse and a major attraction for visitors.

A bunch of modern apartments, row houses, condos, and assisted living homes?

Come on, Salem, we can do a lot better. Many other cities have been there and done that. Let's aspire to something grander, like Traverse City did.

Comments

[Caren]

With an aging population, there is a need for non-profit Assisted Living Facilities for low income seniors. These officials need to think outside the box. Tearing down historic buildings, what a shame.

[Breakfast on Bikes]

It is interesting as you and the SCV commenter have noted, but I wonder how connected it is to the city. The aerial map shows a good gap between the campus and the gridded blocks of the city. There's also a state highway. I suspect this is a really car-dependent development. It might be internally walkable, but it lacks external connections.

Additionally, none of the north campus is from the 19th century. Mostly it's mid-century architecture. I think that changes a lot of things - not to mention the romance and horroor of the "asylum" just isn't there.

[Michael Donnelly]

I sent this off to my Documentarian friends who have their studio in Traverse City and live nearby. I asked for their take. Right off, Traverse City is the Jackson Hole of Michigan - THE place where upscale white people have lived/had summer homes at for decades. It's a lot different than Salem. I agree that the State Hospital should be a community asset and not some developer wet dream. But, it's likely going to have to be a lot more diverse than anything TC could come up with.

[Brian Hines]

Michael, I agree.

Both that Traverse City is very different from Salem, and a state hospital redevelopment here would be very different from what happened there.

But, like I said, seemingly there is something we can learn from the Traverse City experience.

I found it interesting that the state hospital buildings there were set to be demolished. Then Ray Minervini stepped forward and made an offer to renovate them.

So the State of Oregon and City of Salem should be cautious about going ahead with demolition plans.

For one, this would be expensive, and better uses could be found for the limited state government dollars that would be spent on demolition. Also, it makes sense to be absolutely certain that a developer doesn't want the buildings "as is" before tearing them down.

[Michael Donnelly]

Brian, My buddy in Traverse City says that Traverse City, ten years ago before their restoration of the State Theater anchored a downtown revival, was full of closed stores and empty lots. Worse than Salem. The state hospital restoration project came in about the same time. They then went on to build another downtown theater in a run-down museum building they also restored - The Bijou - and now hold a very successful annual film festival at both theaters. And, Traverse City overall is now a happening place. Of course, they have a spectacular waterfront and lots of wealth in the area, which helps. He thinks we should be looking for restoration grants.