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Here’s a roundup of recent OMP News and Photos…
Seven Hills Development Update. Construction on the Seven Hills development project recently began. At their Jan. 6, 2022 meeting, the Peninsula Township Board approved an outside tasting room for the project, and Jordan Valdmanis, one of the developers, noted that they have been approved for a restaurant/tavern through the Township and a liquor license through the State of Michigan.
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Located at 13795 Seven Hills Road, the project also includes retail shops and professional offices. Tinker Art Studio, previously located in the front building, is in the process of moving to a building in the back.
A farmers’ market, motel, and recreation equipment rentals, part of the original plan, were not approved by the Township. Along with Valdmanis, the project is helmed by Brian Peace, Troy Daily and Jay Milliken, all residents of the Peninsula.
Here are a couple of photos of the project in progress this week. The second one is taken from the back of the main building.
Buchan’s Blueberry Hill Expands. Lori Buchan, who runs Buchan’s Blueberry Hill with her husband, Ben, recently announced that they are opening a new ice cream store at 13000 S. W. Bay Shore Drive. The space was most recently occupied by Wares Brothers Frosty Treat.
The new store, known as Buchans West Bay, is in addition to their space in Suttons Bay, Scoops 22, and of course, their home base on the Peninsula, Buchan’s Blueberry Hill, at 1472 Nelson Road.
Lori says they are in the process of hiring staff for Buchan’s West Bay. If you’re interested, text “Ice Cream” to (231) 649-0844.
Peninsula Market Update. The Market is once again offering lunch specials and pizza. Call (231) 223-9500 for the lunch specials, and to order a pizza, call (231) 223-9503.
Pizza is offered by the slice from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and night-time orders must be placed by 6:45 p.m. You can build your own or order one of their pizza specials: Hawaiian, Vegetarian, Deluxe, Meat Lovers, BBQ Chicken, Chicken Bacon Ranch and Buffalo Chicken.
As a side note to Peninsula Market, please consider offering your awesome chili every day! It’s the best chili in all the land. And here’s a custom pizza we ordered the other night. So good.
Legion Dinners Update. Due to the rise in Covid cases throughout the state and Grand Traverse County, the Old Mission Legion community dinners, held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 6:30 p.m., are canceled at least through the month of March. If Covid numbers go down, they will open for dinners possibly in April or May.
In other news, they are in the process of getting bids from contractors for replacing the roof on their building at 4007 Swaney Road. All donations are welcome – call Mary Shultz, (231) 223-7721, for more info.
Parks Committee Open House Rescheduled. There were two open houses this week for OMP residents to chat about upcoming park projects and fill out a form with your top priorities. However, due to the ice storm, one of those open houses was canceled and rescheduled for Wednesday, March 2, 4 – 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 6105 Center Road.
View the Parks Feasibility Study prepared by LIAA (Land Information Access Association) here, and if you can’t make the upcoming open house, you’re welcome to fill out the priorities survey at the Participate Old Mission website here (you have to register and sign in to the site in order to fill out the survey).
Also, click here for the worksheet with details about each project. Props to the Parks Committee for the massive amount of work that went into this.
Traverse City Triathlon Approved. At their Feb. 8 meeting, the Township Board approved a permit for the 2022 Traverse City Triathlon, scheduled for Sunday, August 21, 2022. The start time for the first race is 8 a.m., and all participants are typically finished by noon.
Approximately 450 participants are expected, with an additional 500 spectators and volunteers. The event setup for the race equipment is at the Bowers Harbor Boat Launch parking lot. Parking for participants, spectators and volunteers will be at the parking area on Devil’s Dive Road (the south section of Bowers Harbor Park).
Event details are the same as the 2019 race. The event consists of two different length races (participants swim, bike and run a set distance), a duathlon race, and relay versions of those races. The swim portion will take place at the Bowers Harbor boat launch, and the bike course begins and ends at the boat launch, proceeding along various OMP roads.
The run course begins at Bowers Harbor, goes along Neahtawanta Road, through the Pyatt Lake Nature Preserve, then along Peninsula Drive and Seven Hills Road, ending at Bowers Harbor Park.
The roads will not be closed, and routes will be monitored by volunteers and deputy sheriff staff. For more info, check out the Triathlon’s website here.
In related news, the Bayshore Marathon has submitted a permit application to be reviewed by the Township Board at their March 22 meeting. If approved, the Bayshore will take place on May 28, 2022.
The Township Board has also approved a permit for the 2022 Festival of Races hosted by the National Cherry Festival. This race will take place on July 9, 2022.
SUPPORT YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWSPAPER: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So I started my own newspaper.
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Hey Jane; It is so good to see you back reporting the news and recounting the history of Old Mission Peninsula. The Old Mission Gazette is really, reallyt good for the community. Thank you for making it happen. Rudy
Glad to see you back in action with the Gazette. you do good work. Carol Holmes
[…] Hills Project Eyes Opening. Over at The Ticker, Craig Manning posted an update on the Seven Hills project helmed by locals Troy Daily, Jay Milliken, Jordan Valdmanis, and Brian Peace. Craig writes, […]