Oscar Perry Abello wrote:

Slated to finish construction and open its doors in early 2022 (there’s even a live webcam feed of the construction site), Commongrounds Cooperative will have space for an independent coffee roaster, a local craft distillery, a food hall with a shared commercial kitchen for hourly rental, a childcare facility, a performing arts space and 24 apartments — 18 of them below-market rate, serving various income levels.

But what really makes Commongrounds Cooperative such an atypical project is who owns it and how it was financed. The co-op is owned by a combination of the commercial tenants that will occupy it once it opens and members of their community — their customers, employees and other supporters as well as the residents once they move in.

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“The real estate development model that’s predominant in our country and around the world is extractive, especially in towns [like Traverse City] where tourism is the predominant industry,” Treter says. “There are developers out there who are great people and have great hearts, but it’s subjective to their whims and profitability which requires doing certain things putting profit before community. This model looks to resolve that.”