'An eye on the future': New BATA headquarters rises on Hammond Road

Feb. 14—TRAVERSE CITY — Construction on the $30 million headquarters for the Bay Area Transportation Authority is speeding along with a projected opening date in late August.

At 78,000 square feet, the structure will be one of the largest public buildings in Grand Traverse County.

Construction crews broke ground at the 12-acre site on April 3, 2023. Today, much of the work is focused on interior spaces, including a drive-through bus storage facility, a repair shop, offices and meeting areas. The flexible space layout is designed to accommodate future growth without expensive additions.

All told, about 60 people have worked on the project so far, according to the construction superintendent. The building was designed by Progressive AE, an architectural firm based in Grand Rapids. Christman Co. of Lansing is the primary contractor.

Rapid growth in the Traverse City area in the last 20-plus years is creating new demand for transportation services beyond the core city, officials said.

"We ran out of space in our current facility a long time ago," said said BATA Executive Director Kelly Dunham. "The fact is we've been sprawling down Cass Road for more than 14 years and there just isn't enough room there to meet our needs.

"When planning began for our new headquarters about six years ago, we kept an eye on the future," she added. "Much of the growth in our area is happening in the southern parts of the county where more open land is available. Our new location will help us serve that area as well as the routes we already serve."

Founded in 1986, BATA serves Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. About 75 percent of the riders reside in Grand Traverse County.

BATA provides fixed bus routes in populated areas, bus routes to villages, and the LINK on-demand service that operates similar to Uber or Lyft.

Money for the project comes from the Federal Transit Administration ($13 million); the Michigan Department of Transportation ($10 million); BATA board capital allocation ($5.4 million); and the sale of the Cass Road facility ($2 million).

The average cost for commercial construction in the United States is around $490 per square foot, according to report by Cummings Construction Market Analysis. However, the price can range from as little as $70 to over $1,000, depending on the building type and location.

The headquarters is costing about $385 per square foot, but that figure isn't easily comparable to the national average because it includes land costs, architectural costs and interior design.

BATA's annual budget is about $11.7 million, primarily from federal government grants (19 percent), state government grants (38 percent) and local sources such as millages and rider fares (43 percent).

The building, with parking spaces, occupies nine of the 12-acre site. The remaining land is dedicated to wetlands preservation.

Just up the road from the new headquarters, a large mixed-use development is underway on LaFranier with about 200 apartments, 15 Habitat for Humanity homes, a daycare center and a commercial building. A proposed BATA bus transfer station is part of that project.

Further up LaFranier is a set of county buildings that house the Departments of Public Works, Environmental Health, Public Health, Veterans Affairs and others.

Centralizing most of BATA operations will help in a variety of ways, Dunham said. BATA employs about 130 people today, of which about 95-100 are bus drivers, officials said.

Environmental stewardship is a part of the headquarters design, according to statements from Progressive AG architects. The slanted roof and adjacent roof areas are possible sites for a large solar array that could feed excess electric power into the regional power grid.

BATA is also looking at the future of electric vehicles — with caution. Six electric vehicles of various sizes are currently on order and more may be added if that experiment succeeds.

Currently, about 60 percent of BATA vehicles run on propane. The remaining 40 percent use diesel fuel or gasoline. The new headquarters building will feature propane storage and fueling systems, while the other fuel needs will be met by third-party vendors in the area.

Construction materials at the site were selected with environmental sustainability in mind, officials said. The building's shell is a combination of pre-cast concrete, structural steel, energy-efficient glass and related materials.

"One of the biggest selling points for steel is that it's entirely recyclable," said Jacob Loew, a structural engineer at Progressive AE, in a written statement. "In fact, upwards of 90% of the steel used today is recycled.

"For the new BATA headquarters, we were intentional about optimizing our material use and ... minimize the total steel tonnage and thus both the cost and environmental impact," he said. "Ultimately, we were able to find a solution with the client that met the needs of the space and reduced the initial concept's steel tonnage by over 30 percent."

BATA board members will continue to meet at the Hall Street transfer station in downtown Traverse City. The next meeting of the BATA board is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday.