Plans to build a new Traverse City Senior Center facility are estimated to come in at nearly $5.6 million, according to new cost estimates provided to Traverse City commissioners Monday. Commissioners also received an update on the latest architectural plans for the new facility, as well as two planned millage proposals that could fund construction and long-term operations.

Traverse City and Grand Traverse County commissioners jointly agreed in 2018 to build a new facility to replace the aging Senior Center located on Grand Traverse Bay on East Front Street. Traverse City owns the building and property, while Grand Traverse County operates the Senior Center and its programming as part of the Grand Traverse County Senior Center Network. Built in 1969, the existing building has the same original plumbing, electrical, walls, floors, and interiors as when it first opened, with City Manager Marty Colburn calling the facility “substandard” for modern needs.

Architect Ray Kendra of Environment Architects is leading the design process for the new building, which is expected to come in at just over 17,000 square feet – roughly twice its current size. Plans call for constructing the building on the northeast corner of the property, opening up views and access to Grand Traverse Bay. Parking would be reconfigured and expanded, with the facility’s popular shuffleboard and tennis courts preserved. The design includes a covered drop-off area that would allow visitors to enter the facility while being sheltered from the elements.

Kendra told commissioners Monday that plans had been further refined in recent months to accommodate commission and public input, providing more pedestrian connections throughout the grounds, a formal pathway to the beach, and an adjusted layout to protect as many mature trees as possible. While some locust trees will be removed, most of the older hardwoods will be preserved, Kendra said, with other plantings occurring elsewhere on the property to offset the removed trees.

The building construction budget for the project is estimated at over $5.2 million, with the total overall budget – including furnishings, architectural and engineering costs, and contingencies – coming in at nearly $5.6 million. Final numbers could vary depending on actual bids received through a public competitive bidding process; Kendra said the bid package would likely include alternate options, such as the covered walkway, that could potentially be altered or removed from the project if needed to reduce costs.

Robert Steadman, president of Senior Center Friends – a nonprofit group that supports the Senior Center – said his organization is seeking support from both Traverse City and Grand Traverse County commissioners to put two county-wide millage proposals on the ballot in August to help fund the construction and long-term operations of the facility. The first would be a “one-and-done” millage, as Steadman described it, that would be for 1 mill for one year and would raise an estimated $6 million to cover the building construction. “Using a one-year millage eliminates the interest cost of a revenue bond and saves the annual increase in construction costs by providing the money to build in one year,” according to Steadman. Under that scenario, construction could potentially start in fall 2020 and be completed by fall 2021.

A second ballot proposal would increase the existing Senior Center Network millage from .1 mill to .2 mill in 2022, when the millage is up for renewal. The increase would help cover long-term operations and programming not only at the expanded Traverse City facility, but at the county’s satellite locations in Interlochen, Kingsley, Acme, and Fife Lake. According to Senior Center Network Manager Lori Wells, the annual operating budget for the Traverse City location is $564,000; those costs are expected to climb as more staff and programming are needed to meet growing demands at both the new facility and other locations.

Steadman said Senior Center Friends would spearhead the community outreach campaign to support the millage proposals. “We think we’re the logical people to do it, we believe there’s very strong support in the county,” he said. “I certainly know that the 27,000 or so seniors in the county are solidly behind it.” If one or both millage proposals failed, Steadman said the nonprofit would assist with fundraising efforts to try and make up the difference, but believed millages would provide the most sustainable funding path forward for the project. “The question of who should bear the cost is at the heart of any financing discussion…we believe the cost should be borne by all of us who live in this community, rather than a few individuals and/or foundations,” according to Steadman.

Both city and county commissioners will need to approve putting the millages on the August ballot. Colburn said he’ll bring the issue to city commissioners for a vote in the “very near future,” while Steadman said he’d asked county commissioners to consider the topic at their March 18 meeting. City Commissioner Brian McGillivary said he was open to supporting both millage proposals, but asked Senior Center Friends to come back with detailed numbers to justify the necessity of the requests to taxpayers.

Mayor Jim Carruthers expressed his enthusiasm for the Senior Center rebuild – a project discussed by officials for years – finally moving forward. “It is kind of a funky old building, and it really is packed full of programming, and we just don’t have enough space for it anymore,” he said. “With the population growth of this (senior) population…we’re going to need a better facility. In Traverse City, we’re in the top ten of everything. I think we want to have the top-rated senior center in the area as well.”