Children's Museum could move to Acme

Apr. 19—ACME — New digs for the Great Lakes Children's Museum could be part of a reworked plan for Acme's former Kmart.

Acme Township planning commissioners on Monday will look at Strathmore Real Estate Group's request to amend a planned unit development encompassing both the former big-box store and a repurposed Tom's Food Market, the latter of which is now eco-friendly cleaning products Truly Free's shipping and retail location. While plans originally called for building 186 apartments, that would be trimmed to 132.

Instead, the developer wants to add a 1.16-acre parcel just north on U.S. 31 to the site, tear down an existing building there and build a 16,000-square-foot children's museum.

Tracie MacPherson, Great Lakes Children's Museum's executive director, said it's one of the options being considered as a move-out date approaches in 17 months.

"As you know, the Children's Museum needs to move because there's a bulldozer coming to knock down our building in October 2025," she said. "And so we are talking with many community organizations and that, of course, is one of them that we're talking to about a potential location."

Jacob Chappelle, Strathmore Real Estate Group's chief financial officer, said in an email the company wants to donate the land to the nonprofit and help with related site work, including utilities and landscaping.

"The Great Lakes Children's Museum has long provided families in the region with extraordinary educational exhibits and programs — this is an opportunity to continue and expand on those contributions," he wrote.

Since the museum would displace 70 apartments, the developer wants to use recent changes to Michigan's brownfield laws to create a tax increment finance plan to help subsidize the project, Chappelle said. That would also allow for providing apartments with subsidized rents — state law requires they be below market rate, as previously reported.

Such a plan would allow the company to recoup part of the project costs through a years-long capture of growth in the subject property's taxable values.

Monday's planning commission meeting would be just the start — planning commissioners would need to set a future public hearing to discuss the major amendment, which also includes adding apartments to two buildings, replacing another with a clubhouse, moving a coffee shop planned for the former Kmart into the museum and adding a semi truck loading dock and paving an adjacent turnaround curve in back.

Planners would then decide whether to recommend adopting the changes, with township trustees getting the final say at a future meeting. And Chappelle said the developer will ask the county Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to consider its proposal at another meeting.

If approved, the location would be a considerable upgrade in space from the museum's current location, MacPherson said. That would allow the nonprofit to grow, including possibly adding a science center.

"I'm very excited about the science center idea," she said. "I think we really need to address some STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education here in northwest Michigan."

What that might look like is to be determined, MacPherson said. But museum leadership knows from asking visitors that they want to see tie-ins with science happening in the region and the careers it supports. That'll likely include freshwater research, and the museum will consult with the Freshwater Research and Innovation Center on those aspects, MacPherson said.

Plans to build the center near Discovery Pier will displace the museum and a handful of other nonprofits, including the Maritime Heritage Alliance, as previously reported. The MHA owns and sails two boats, including schooner Madeline, using all-volunteer crews. It also runs a boat shop near Discovery Pier, where the Madeline typically docks.

The Discovery Center's plans to clear the spot prompted concerns from MHA supporters, who questioned where the nonprofit would relocate its boat workshop.

MacPherson said she's excited for the museum, as the move from the spot where it has been for 18 years presents a new opportunity to recreate what it does and how it reaches the community.

"It's going to be a whole new entity, we're not taking much of what we have now except for our water table, because the water table is much loved by the children's museum community," she said.

Museum leadership inked a letter of inquiry with Strathmore Real Estate Group, but there's no formal commitment yet, MacPherson said.

The building would be located at what is now 6501 U.S. 31 North, planning documents show. Past directory listings show a dental clinic and laboratory at the address, as well as a chiropractic office. Real estate listings show it's a 2,056-square-foot building from 1968, and Lastbidrealestate.com shows it sold at auction for $112,000 in November 2020.

Other plans for the building the developer wants to build on the site include a potential Grand Traverse County Senior Center Networks satellite. County Administrator Nate Alger said he's discussed the possibility with the developer for a new location in Acme Township.

Currently, the network offers programming in Autumn House, an assisted living facility on Mt. Hope Road, according to the network's website.

Alger said the county had supported Acme Township's proposal to buy the former Bertha Vos Elementary School and turn it into a township hall and community center. The senior center could have been a tenant there, but the deal fell apart when Acme Township withdrew in late 2023.

"We're just looking for space," Alger said. "Any time we can increase, improve and enhance the services we are providing to the seniors, the better for us, the better for everybody."