Plans aim to build Gateway Corridor around Cherry Capital Airport

Garfield Township, the City of Traverse City and East Bay Township are advancing plans to concentrate growth along South Airport Road in a proposal known locally as the Gateway Corridor, a focused development area around Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) intended to add hotels, restaurants and shops for travelers and residents across Northern Michigan.

The township’s Planning Commission is scheduled to vote today on recommending a master-plan change that would allow mixed-use development near TVC; if recommended, the township board is expected to act on Jan. 27. Officials say the goal is to attract uses that complement airport activity and regional demand rather than auto-intensive businesses such as drive-through restaurants or car washes.

“Certainly, for visitors, whether they’re from Charlevoix, Manistee or whatever, if they have a 6:00 flight in the morning, this would be a great place for them to stay, to be able to come the night before, settle in and then take off early in the morning,” said Garfield Township Planning Director John Sych. Autumn MacClaren, director of air service development and marketing at Cherry Capital Airport, noted the airport already draws passengers from neighboring counties and even the Upper Peninsula, increasing demand for nearby services.

A hotel is already slated for airport property, and planned terminal additions are expected to increase demand for more rooms and event space. Planners describe the vision as a smaller-scale aerotropolis—a consolidated town-center concept focused on the corridor that could concentrate development while preserving surrounding green space.

Economic development experts view improved air service and proximate amenities as important engines for growth. For Grand Traverse County, clustering lodging and meeting space near TVC could lift the hospitality tax base, expand event capacity for conventions and sports travel, and create local construction and service jobs. It also tightens the link between the airport and the region’s tourism economy, making early-morning flights and business travel more viable without lengthy drives.

Municipal officials emphasize design standards and land-use controls to maintain a higher-quality aesthetic along South Airport Road. That reflects local concerns about balancing growth with neighborhood character and environmental protection. Changes to the master plan would give townships and the city clearer rules to steer investment toward mixed-use development, walkable centers and shared parking rather than strip-commercial sprawl.

The proposal remains subject to local approvals and the pace of private investment, but it signals a strategic push to leverage TVC as an economic anchor. Our two cents? Pay attention to the township meetings, weigh how new hotels and shops could affect traffic and property values, and consider how concentrated growth might preserve more open land elsewhere while expanding job and visitor capacity here in Grand Traverse County.