Historic preservation vs. tourism development on Mackinac Island
Skift Take
There needs to be a better balance between development and preservation in places like Mackinac. It's not just about new hotels but about having an environment where infrastructure keeps pace with the times instead of staying in the past.
The future of the past is in dispute at one of Michigan's most famous tourist destinations.
Two developers who just opened the Bicycle Street Inn & Suites on Main Street have plans to erect two more hotels downtown on two waterfront sites -- and historic preservationists are fuming.
One structure in the way? A former Ryba's Fudge shop.
This spring, the city, armed with strict new historic preservation district laws passed in January, blocked one of the planned hotels, the three-story Main Dock Inn near the Arnold ferry dock.
It cited the need to make sure open space, light and water views remained on Main Street.
So developers Ira Green and Melanie Libby made an offer: They would shrink the hotel size to 13 rooms and not block the whole dock -- in exchange for 100 bicycle licenses and a hardship waiver to tear down two buildings, including the Ryba's shop. The city had until last Wednesday to act.
Last Monday, however, the Historic District Commission denied the demolitions. Then the City Council asked for more time. Developers said no. The offer expired. Now, all parties say the situation is fragile and delicate, sensitive and unresolved.
At its heart, it's a case of competing visions for Mackinac Island.
"When you actually look at the plans, it's shocking. Do they want to be Mackinaw City or Mackinac Island?" said Amy Arnold, preservation planner for Michigan's State Historic Preservation Office. "We feel they are undermining the historic district
