Construction of Detroit transit hub begins at historic State Fair dairy barn

Detroit — By next spring, city leaders expect the State Fair Transit Center to be in full motion, with bus riders moving through converted historic buildings on site and resting in restaurants and shops — but not without a boost in funding.

Construction is underway in the historic Dairy Cattle Barn at the former state fairgrounds along West 8 Mile Road, with the paving of a new foundation, laying asphalt, landscaping and adding a new park, Detroit Building Authority Director Tyrone Clifton said Tuesday during a behind-the-scenes tour of the seven-acre site.

Clifton was joined by city transit director Mikel Oglesby and deputy building director Donna Rice, who oversees the project. They're utilizing Ideal Contracting, a southwest Detroit minority-owned company, to complete the project, which has grown from its introduction from a simple hub to an end-of-the-line operation.

Meanwhile Tuesday, the City Council had a resolution to increase funds by $13 million for the design and construction of the new transit center on behalf of the Detroit Building Authority. The total contract amount is $31.6 million to complete the construction by April 30, 2024. The $31 million includes the adaptive reuse of the cattle barn, construction of the center, demolition of the historic coliseum, preservation of the coliseum facade arch, and development of a public plaza, Clifton said.

"It's costing more because it started off as just a small project that's grown into this size only because of the commitment to the public, working with the City Council and the administration. Originally, it was going to be a much smaller, probably more sophisticated hub than what you've seen on Woodward," Clifton said. "But now we've grown into an adaptive reuse facility, saving a structure that was historical and providing amenities to the ridership which they very much voiced on when we did the presentation."

Interior demolition of the Dairy Cattle Barn was completed over the winter and now crews are working on clearing the site, carving out windows in the barn and stabilizing the structure.

In October 2020, the Detroit City Council approved a $400 million plan for the redevelopment of the former State Fairgrounds including a new DDOT transit Center and Gateway Shopping Plaza. It's expected to bring 1,200 new jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities.

The City Council later approved an $18.6 million transit center that is touted as a hub comparable to transit stations in other big cities with some retail and restaurant options, an indoor lobby and public waiting area, ticket office, restrooms and a separate lounge and restroom area for transit operators, giving them an end-of-the-route respite point.

"The Rosa Parks Transit Center (downtown) is the beginning of the line and at the end of the line, we'll have the State Fair Transit Center," said Oglesby, adding there will be eight DDOT bays and two SMART Fast bus bays. "This will influence us to take a hard look at the Rosa Parks Transit Center now and bring it up to the next level. It will help improve efficiency down the line."

The 52,500-square-foot Dairy Cattle Building is being adapted into a bus terminal with DDOT and SMART buses circulating through the interior. There will be old memorabilia returned to live inside he new transit center.

The site will also have 70 staff and visitor parking spaces, 25 MOGO bicycles and a scooter area for pickups and drop-offs. 

When plan designs were unveiled in August 2021, residents pushed back calling for the preservation of three historical sites on the fairgrounds. The city conducted a feasibility study and determined the 1926 Dairy Cattle Building and the facade of the 1924 Hertel Coliseum, a 60,000-square-foot equestrian center that hosted circuses, concerts and rodeos, could be saved. The adjacent Agricultural Building will not be used as part of the project because it is leased to Joe Dumars Fieldhouse.

While the Coliseum building would be removed, the Portico would remain, welcoming riders to the transit center.

Restoration comes at a cost

It costs more to restore historic sites than to build new ones, Clifton said. The initial, smaller project was expected to be completed last year, but since expanding, Clifton said it wasn't possible due to a competitive market and impacting their capital fund.

"We designed, bid it out, get the subcontractors under and evaluated it... this is what it costs to build," Clifton said of the $31.6 million total bill.

The additional $13 million will pay for: $279,000 on code compliance for tenant space; $180,000 on the Portico stabilization; $520,000 for utility coordination; $350,000 for cattle barn roof sealant; $225,000 for electrical capacity for future bus charging stations; $375,000 for public information address system; $231,000 for air monitoring as buses pass through the site; an additional $6.1 million on labor; $1.8 million on bonds, builder risk, permits; and $2.1 million on additional insurance fees.

"We'll have the infrastructure to have our electric fleet charge here," Oglesby said.

Expecting double the riders

Officials say the new transit center will increase bus access and circulation from both 8 Mile and Woodward Avenue. It will also make reaching the nearby Meijer store more accessible, Oglesby said.

By revitalizing the former fairgrounds after years of neglect, Oglesby expects double the amount of riders on the system overall.

"Pre-pandemic, I believe we had 20,000 riders a week, but due to a shortage of operators and COVID, we're not at that amount. As far as I'm concerned, by the time this is built, we'll have all the operators running and double that number," Oglesby said. "Based on our early projections, we don't see any major shifts to fund the day-to-day operations."

There are six routes that currently service the State Fair Transit Center and it's possible there will be an expansion, and even into 24-hour service, Oglesby told The Detroit News.

"We're going to have WiFi, charging stations and charging for people in wheelchairs," Oglesby said. "Riders will have the ability to go shopping, grab coffee or just rest. We're really excited to see what the city does with the rest of the site."

DDOT is the largest public transit provider in Michigan that serves the city of Detroit, its surrounding suburbs, Highland Park and Hamtramck. DDOT, started in 1922, averages about 85,000 riders daily pre-pandemic. Ridership overall has decreased by 57%. In January 2020, DDOT had 1.86 million monthly riders. This January, DDOT carried 795,827 riders. Its on-time performance has varied slightly, dropping from 75% on time in January 2020 to 65% on time this year.

The department currently has 404 drivers including 21 new trainees starting this week. It's 100 fewer than what the department is budgeted for.

Oglesby is currently working on a plan to "Reimagine DDOT's" system. The department plans to issue better rates for drivers because a labor shortage is leading to a reduction in service. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan added a $15 million increase to DDOT's budget in the fiscal year starting in July to replace lapsed federal funding and raise wages for DDOT bus drivers. The department is also working on stabilizing paratransit services for disabled riders in the city.

Of the 142-acre site at Woodward near Eight Mile, 78 acres are being redeveloped for the 3.8 million-square-foot Amazon facility and the remaining 70 acres will be redeveloped into potential spaces for automotive industry suppliers.

Other historic elements from the former fairgrounds, including the bandshell, were moved in 2021. The bandshell is now in Palmer Park.

srahal@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @SarahRahal_