Ready, Set, Charrette!

by Lynn Geiger

It took some late nights, little sleep and lots of caffeinated beverages, but Green Lake Township took planning to a whole new level this past weekend. The result? A final proposal for what Interlochen Corners (or more formally, the Interlochen Village Gateway area) could one day look like.

The township hosted a team of planning and design experts put together by Gibbs Planning Group of Petoskey for a “true charrette.” From Wednesday until Saturday evening, the team worked nearly non-stop on a land use planning proposal for 80 acres on two parcels adjacent to the intersection of U.S. 31 and M-137: the southwest corner which includes the currently-shuttered Fun Country and property to the west and the northeast corner that includes Ric’s Plaza.

The event was a spin-off of the planning work being done by the Grand Vision, Northwest Michigan Council of Governments, the Traverse Bay Economic Development Corporation and the Interlochen DDA, says Paul Biondo, township supervisor.

What exactly is a charrette? Pronounced “shuh-ret,” it is the French word for “cart.” In the planning world it means “intense period of design planning.” It was adapted to planning vernacular after student architects in 19th-centrury Paris worked up to the very last moment on their design presentations, even while riding in the school cart (or charrette) on their way to give them to professors.

Interlochen hosted the 2011 version in just 72 hours (minus the cart). Of course, it did allow for only three hours of sleep on Friday night. After arriving in town, the team immediately took off on a tour of the village and the surrounding area. They then held numerous meetings with property owners, community stakeholders, and public officials.

The township’s charge to Gibbs? Make the properties more walkable, sustainable and economically viable. “This is a 20-year vision, a proposal for Interlochen to grow to a large village, maybe even a town.”

So what did Gibbs and his team hear? The plan should represent both the history and future of Interlochen and the design should be creative and modern. By Saturday afternoon they presented a proposal that calls for more housing, more commercial/retail developments, more jobs and more “sense of community.”

Among its many components, the proposal features a roundabout at the intersection of U.S. 31 and M-137 and design reflective of the look and feel of two of its beloved landmarks: Interlochen State Park and Interlochen Center for the Arts.

“You told us you don’t want it stodgy,” Gibbs told the audience during the final presentation Saturday afternoon.

Company founder Robert Gibbs is considered a leader in the New Urbanism movement, teaches at Harvard University and has led the planning and design of more than 400 new town centers across the United States, including Cambridge, Charleston, Portland and Seattle.