Commongrounds – A Community Investment With Priceless Dividends

What is a cooperative, and how does it work? Well, that all depends on the raison d’etre for each individual co-op.

In the case of Commongrounds – a real estate cooperative in Traverse City, Michigan – it’s about empowering the regional community with the development of a 4-story mixed use building with endless possibilities. The project is self-defined as:

“More than a building project, Commongrounds will be a backbone support for space and activities integrating wellness, arts, family, and food to help people and organizations be healthy, connected, creative, and inclusive.” For a deeper look into the co-op’s mission, the video on the project website tells the story.

Some of the potential Commongrounds tenants include:

• A child care facility
• Restaurant/café
• Fully outfitted kitchen intended for teaching
• Large performance space
• Co-working space with 24 units to meet the workforce need

Commongrounds Project Details: ​

• Owners: Commongrounds is a real estate cooperative with two classes of ownership: our real estate tenant-owners (businesses and nonprofits), and members of our community.
• Location: 414 E Eighth St Traverse City, MI 49686
• Building Type: 4-story mixed-use building

“The Commongrounds project team is clearly passionate about creating a special place for people to live, work and enjoy themselves. I am really looking forward to the project completion and the positive impact it will have on the local community.” – Billy Mustard, WhiteSpace Project Manager

WhiteSpace Guides Commongrounds on Building Technology

WhiteSpace is working closely with the development team to ensure the building’s technology strategy and infrastructure support the many unique use cases the building will offer. This includes:

• Working with the project developer to guide the building technology vision.
• Collaborating with the property management group to develop a service provider strategy that will include a building-wide managed Wi-Fi deployment provided by Spot On Networks. (Spot On will be providing common area wifi throughout the project, as well as each unit.)
• Assisting the architect and general contractor to integrate technology design an infrastructure to meet the needs of each unique space throughout the building – evaluating pricing based on the design specifications, as well as finding savings without compromising the functional requirements outlined for the project. ​

The construction is scheduled for completion in the Fall of 2022. We will share updates as they become available.