TRAVERSE CITY — In a space once at the heart of the former Traverse City State Hospital’s daily life, a new chapter is beginning, one that blends preservation with new purpose.
Community members will gather at noon on May 4 at Historic Barns Park for a ribbon cutting marking the completion of renovations to Barn 206. The project includes a newly transformed upper level that now houses the Debra J. Edson Family Education Center.
The nearly $5 million project represents years of collaboration between the nonprofit Botanic Garden and the City of Traverse City and Charter Township of Garfield Recreational Authority (Rec Authority), formed by the city and township to support public parks.
Originally built in 1896 as part of the hospital’s extensive agricultural operations, the barns were once part of a system designed to be largely self-sustaining, which was a defining feature of the institution under Dr. James Decker Munson.
Today, that philosophy is finding new life in a different form.
While the hospital relied on its own farming operations to support daily needs, the modern-day model depends on generating revenue through rentals, programming and events to sustain the buildings and the organizations that operate within them.
“The hospital touched so many people, from an employment standpoint and from its presence in the community for so long, and that’s deeply rooted here,” said Matt Cowall, executive director of the Rec Authority. “It’s something I don’t think I would have known or understood without being involved in Historic Barns Park and in these projects.”
That connection, he said, helps explain why efforts like the redevelopment of the Commons and Historic Barns Park have continued despite the challenges.
“At every turn, none of this makes perfect sense from a redevelopment standpoint,” Cowall said. “There has to be some passion behind it. There have to be goals that aren’t just monetary. You have to have some monetary success to make everything work, but most people wouldn’t tackle something like this, and it’s been a special effort by a lot of special people, I think, to get it this far.”
The renovated space includes classroom space, a demonstration teaching kitchen, gallery, and offices.
For Matthew Ross, executive director of the Botanic Garden, the kitchen in particular reflects the project’s commitment to hands-on learning and community use.
“One of the main things is that we have cameras and audiovisual so you’ll be able to see what the chef is doing and preparing,” Ross said. “We also have a community-style island where people will be able to be up close and personal with the chefs, which allows us to have classes that are intimate small group classes of 10 or 12, but we also have the ability to provide demonstrations to more than 100 people.”
But the project isn’t defined by its modern amenities alone.
In addition to structural elements, the group carefully repurposed materials, including wood salvaged to build Ross’s desk and bookshelves, to keep the building’s history present.
Perhaps one of the most touching homages to the building’s history is a handwritten message left behind by a former patient, Cecil Morrison. Part of the patient workforce, he was among the last to work in the barn before its closure in 1957.
Ross said Morrison painted one of the boards white and then used a pencil to write about his experience..
“We kept his love note,” Ross said. “We really wanted to honor that and have that be part of the story when you first walk in.”
The note has been preserved in plexiglass and is displayed near the entrance.
The preservation of elements such as this was intentional, Ross said, including the decision to maintain the craftsmanship of the original structure.
“We worked with architect Ray Kendra to preserve the artistry of the barn construction itself,” he said.
The Debra J. Edson Family Education Center is named for a longtime board member and community leader whose support helped make the project possible.
“Debbie is one of our longstanding board members and a community leader in Traverse City,” Ross said. “She is an incredibly gracious woman whose signature gift made the project possible.”
Edson’s contribution as a lead donor to the Botanic Garden’s capital campaign reflects the kind of community-driven support that has sustained the project from the beginning.
That same spirit is evident in the organization itself.
“The Botanic Garden is 99% volunteers,” Cowall said. “They were able to go out and raise $2.5 million, largely from the community, to get a project like this done.”
In a region not defined by its size, he said, the scale of what’s been accomplished stands out.
“We’re not a huge metropolis in this area,” Cowall said. “We punch above our weight at the Commons in terms of what we’ve been able to do as a community to revive these spaces and bring them back into a new use, but a use that still honors that legacy.”
A newly constructed two-story connector tower between Barn 206 and the adjacent Cathedral Barn (Barn 204) provides shared lobby space and universal elevator access to both buildings.
“The design of the elevator tower is meant to evoke a silo,” he said, noting the design is the result of years of planning and collaboration aimed at balancing accessibility with the site’s historic character.
Conceived between partners and the State Historic Preservation Office, the idea was to make both barns fully universally accessible to the public. The end result is something that feels compatible without offending historic sensibilities, he said.
To help it blend with the surrounding barns, the tower is finished with a steel cladding, a Corten steel that Cowall said will naturally oxidize and rust when exposed to moisture.
Construction, led by Eckler Building Solutions, also included new roofs for both barns and additional storage space in the lower level of the Cathedral Barn.
Cowall said the transformation can still feel disorienting after years of working in the unfinished space.
“After more than a decade of going into the unfinished space, lining up environmental cleanup and remediation work, and being in what was, frankly, an abandoned barn, now it’s a real, usable structure,” he said. “In some ways, it’s very modern. In other ways, it’s a really brilliant incorporation of the original features, the original woodwork. It’s just really cool.”
Funding came through a combination of Rec Authority contributions, a three-year capital campaign by the Botanic Garden, a Community Center Grant from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, and donations from local and state foundations and individuals.
For Ross, the completed space represents both growth and continuity.
By bringing the Debra J. Edson Center to life, Ross said, the project continues the site’s legacy as a place of community development and hands-on learning.
“Whether it was 1880 and you had apprentice farmers here, or it’s 2026 and we have interns from Michigan State learning their trade, we’re carrying on that same legacy of what the hospital meant to our community as being one of the foundational blocks of what we’re doing,” he said.
For Cowall it’s a moment that has been years in the making.
“The ribbon cutting will be the first opportunity that general public visitors can step in there and take a look around, and we’re just so excited about it,” he said. “This is literally 20 years in the making.”
If You Go Ribbon cutting May 4 for the new Debra J. Edson Family Education Center at Historic Barns Park is 12 p.m. Monday, May 4 at Historic Barns Park.
More Information Renovations included Barn 206: New roof , plus major renovations to the upper level, which now serves as the Botanic Garden’s Debra J. Edson Family Education Center, including classroom and event space, a demonstration teaching kitchen, a gallery and office space, and a two-story connecting tower between the Historic Barn and the adjacent Cathedral Barn. Barn 204, Cathedral Barn: New roof and the addition of a storage area in the lower level.