Federal funds for Great Lakes learning: $1.6 million allocated for dockside classroom , lab in TC

William Perkins, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·2 min read

Jan. 10—TRAVERSE CITY — A $1.6 million federal appropriation will help fund a new dockside classroom and lab on Discovery Center and Pier and lay the groundwork for a $60 million center, project partners said in a news release Monday.

The project, a partnership between five education and nonprofit groups in the region, could allow for new water-related research initiatives to begin at the West Grand Traverse Bay facility as early as this summer, they said.

The partners — Discovery Center & Pier, Michigan Technological University, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse Connect and 20Fathoms — confirmed that they signed a memorandum of understanding last week.

These federal funds are the next critical step.

"This appropriation represents an important bipartisan vote of confidence from lawmakers and is key to securing further state and federal investment in the project," said Warren Call, president & CEO of Traverse Connect, in a written statement.

Their goal is to develop the Freshwater Research and Innovation Center on West Grand Traverse Bay in hopes of establishing the Grand Traverse region as a hub for applied freshwater innovation offering research, education, commercialization, incubation, and acceleration programs.

Phase 1 — which includes the new classroom and laboratory construction — is currently underway, and involves fundraising, pier development, campus design and planning, and governance.

In addition to site and financial planning, the federal funding is essential to begin building a classroom, lab, and docks for research vessels on the pier.

"So the building itself is not starting, but the renovations to the dock are," Fathom 20 Marketing Director Keri Amlotte said, "which will include a classroom on the dock itself and lab space, as well as upgrades to the dock."

Record-Eagle reporter Elizabeth Brewer contributed to this report.

Report for America corps member and data journalist William T. Perkins' reporting is made possible by a partnership between the Record-Eagle and Report for America, a journalism service project founded by the nonprofit Ground Truth Project. Generous community support helps fund a local share of the Record-Eagle/RFA partnership. To support RFA reporters in Traverse City, go to www.record-eagle.com/rfa.