All about Kingsley:

 

Kingsley is an ideal place to live and raise children. Its dense population base supports the future development of more urban-style amenities within a rural village that is pedestrian friendly and that can support a blend of lifestyle businesses and restaurants. Relative purchasing power of Kingsley residents is stronger than Traverse City, when considering the aggregate strength of Kingsley, Mayfield, and Paradise which combine to form an absolute population base of over 7,500 people. It is easy to imagine a village core, serving a cluster of communities that include Kingsley neighborhoods but also Mayfield and Paradise Township, that supports a variety of lifestyle businesses like small shops and restaurants, and that is the epicenter of exciting activities like festivals and music celebrations.

 

With more young people and more families than most all other communities in Grand Traverse County, Kingsley is attracting young families due to its excellent school system, proximityto employment centers in Traverse City, and low cost of housing stock. It also has a variety of housing options and neighborhoods that are well maintained and conveniently located close to the village core.

 

A future emphasis could be placed on developing supporting pedestrian friendly infrastructure designed to further tighten the social and business links. Already an effort is underway by the Village to extend its trail system through the region to include access to its neighborhoods. A large number of residents living inthe adjoining communities of Mayfield and Paradise Township likely identify strongly with the Village center. It will be worth the effort to strengthen the connectivity of the businesses and activities in downtown Kingsley to these outlying, but adjacent communities. Collectively, they form a population base of over 7,000 residents. It is natural that they identify with Kingsley as a prominent and convenient location representing a town center that they, too, can access for shopping, dining, and special events.

 

The commute from Kingsley to downtown Traverse City is approximately a twenty minute drive. It is important that the broader region understand that Kingsley is as close by drive time to downtown Traverse City as its many other prominent neighborhoods in the City itself and in outlying areas. This close proximity should help to bolster the image of Kingsley as the ideal bedroom community. Coupled with event planning and celebrations, and only a few modest business expansions, the Village could easily be marketed as a location close to employment centers but distinct in nature with small town charm. This proximity might also herald an opportunity to attract a cluster of Traverse City businesses, perhaps incubated in co-op space under a single roof, to provide a host of services within the Village center like dry cleaning, medical services, hardware, flower shop, drug store, etc.

 

Finally, easy highway access to Kingsley supports its further differentiation as a destination center for specialty shopping and celebratory public events. This composite profile, strongly supported by demographic data, can form the basis of a marketing and promotional campaign. The men, women and children that live in Kingsley know that it is a special place. They are attracted to the community by its small town charm, excellent public school system, affordable housing prices, and close proximity to employment centers in Traverse City. These dominant themes strongly suggest future marketing and promotional strategies designed to reach out to other young families and other workers who may be struggling to find affordable housing in Traverse City. These amenities and characteristics form a compelling promotional campaign designed to drive home and publicize the many unique advantages inherent only to Kingsley