Commissioners Talk County Building Leases, Project Alpha

The future of county buildings was a major topic among Grand Traverse County commissioners Wednesday as the board reviewed proposed new county-city lease agreements for shared buildings on West Front Street and Woodmere Avenue, plus the latest on expansion plans for the county’s LaFranier Road campus.

Building Leases
After extensive negotiations, city and county staff have reached proposed new lease agreements for two key buildings shared by the municipalities: 520 West Front Street, home to MSU Extension (and previously the Commission on Aging) and 851 Woodmere Avenue, the Sergeant Dennis W. Finch Law Enforcement Center occupied by the Grand Traverse Sheriff’s Office and Traverse City Police Department.

The leases came into the spotlight when the city notified the county of its desire to expand the Traverse City Fire Department into the city-owned building next door at 520 West Front. That prompted the Commission on Aging to relocate last year from West Front to the Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Michigan building on Park Drive. MSU Extension still needs to find a new home, but County Administrator Nate Alger said Wednesday that several potential locations – ranging from the Governmental Center to Northwestern Michigan College’s Front Street Campus or University Center – are being explored.

However, the West Front building is part of a complex lease calculus between the county and city that also includes the county-owned Law Enforcement Center on Woodmere. Alger said the relationship goes back decades and was originally intended to end with the county owning both the West Front and Woodmere properties. However, for reasons Alger said were unclear, those deed transactions were never finalized. The agreement terms have subsequently become murky and outdated over time. “What we have (now) is essentially useless leases,” he said.

The new proposed lease agreements will allow the county/MSU Extension to remain in the West Front building through the end of 2026 rent-free. The city will also use part of the building space for the TC Fire Department. The city, meanwhile, will have continued space in the Law Enforcement Center for its police force rent-free until the county vacates West Front. Once the county is out of West Front, the city will begin paying rent for the Law Enforcement Center – both for its own exclusive space in the building ($28,580 annually) and for shared space ($76,744), for a total annual lease of $105,324.

County commissioners suggested some small tweaks to the lease language Wednesday, which is now expected to go to city commissioners for approval. The agreements will then come back to county commissioners for final sign-off in February.

Project Alpha
Work on a planned expansion of the county’s LaFranier Road campus – dubbed Project Alpha – has progressed to the completion of a preliminary site plan, with a schematic design and budget soon to follow.

Jerry Tomczak from project manager Cunningham-Limp gave an update to commissioners Wednesday. The county is targeting an estimated $11-$16 million campus expansion that will create a new combined emergency operations and 911/Central Dispatch center and centralized county storage facility on the property. The expansion could also accommodate space for other departments to better consolidate operations on LaFranier, such as the county’s Department of Public Works (DPW). The department has a garage on Welch Court but could move into the new LaFranier storage facility. Tomczak said the storage facility is planned to be roughly 34,000 square feet with DPW included, but could be easily scaled back if DPW didn’t move.

Staff said they’ve presented Project Alpha plans to the DPW board twice but haven’t yet received a clear answer on whether DPW is interested or financially able to move (DPW would need to participate in buildout and rent costs for its share of the facility). Commissioner Darryl Nelson, who sits on the DPW board, noted that DPW’s director unexpectedly passed away recently. During such a tumultuous transition, it might not be feasible for the department to commit within a tight timeframe to a major move, Nelson said.

Commissioners unanimously voted to have Cunningham-Limp prepare two project options and budgets: one with DPW included and one without. Commissioners agreed they would proceed without DPW when the time comes to move forward unless DPW officially asks to be included in the expansion through formal board action. Tomczak said that – pending commission approval of continued progress – Project Alpha could be on track for a late summer groundbreaking.