Grand Traverse County and Traverse City commissioners held a joint meeting Wednesday to discuss the future of their shared Governmental Center building on Boardman Avenue. The building – built in 1978-79 and facing challenges with aging infrastructure and space constraints – could potentially be fully renovated and modernized, have only basic fixes completed, or even be sold or redeveloped as the two municipalities reenvision their future needs.

The two boards heard from consulting firm TowerPinkster, which recently completed a facilities master plan for both the county and city. At over 57,000 square feet, the Governmental Center is the largest shared building between the two entities. After recently approving updated lease agreements for shared spaces on West Front Street and Woodmere Avenue, city and county officials are now turning their attention to the future of the Boardman Avenue campus. The city and county own the Governmental Center 50-50 but split maintenance costs along 76-24 lines – reflecting the county’s usage of roughly three-fourths of the building compared to the city’s one-fourth.

TowerPinkster noted a range of issues with the building – from a lack of first-floor bathrooms to heating and cooling systems at the end of their lifespans to windows in need of replacement to an at-capacity parking lot. When the facilities master plan was completed at the end of 2023, TowerPinkster estimated that fixing the site’s deficiencies would cost approximately $8.8 million. Costs have escalated roughly 15 percent since then, staff said, putting the figure more in the $10.1 million range. That estimate wouldn’t cover modernizing operations but simply bringing the facility up to good working condition.

Addressing the bare-bone deficiencies was one of three options staff presented. Another was a complete top-to-bottom renovation that could increase the building’s footprint, modernize operations, and improve security. That option was estimated at over $32 million.

A third option could see the county and city get much more creative, vacating the building or reconfiguring it along with the parking lot area. Options could include moving staff to other locations – such as consolidating county employees at the LaFranier campus – and potentially engaging in a public-private partnership to put a new development on the four-acre site with retail, affordable housing, a public park, or other amenities. Such a redevelopment project was envisioned back in 2015 by a different group of city and county officials but never materialized.

County Administrator Nate Alger said leaders need to consider the future – including how the city and county can continue to collaborate while also addressing their individual needs – and weigh options that will serve both entities in the coming decades. On the county side, “we are looking at our operations spread over 37 different buildings and facilities and we are trying to say, ‘How do we expand appropriately and responsibly and yet manage our current costs at the same time?’” Alger explained. He cited Royal Oak as an example of another community that took stock of its needs and redesigned its governmental campus, including entering a public-private partnership to bring the Henry Ford Health System to campus. That partnership helped offset the city’s debt service, he noted.

The county and city continue to sink money into Governmental Center repairs – including $661,000 in the county’s 2025 capital improvement plan budget, which among planned repairs will replace a chiller that’s dumping rusty water into the Boardman River – and aim to determine a path forward that goes beyond piecemeal Band-Aid solutions. As the local population continues to grow – Commissioner Rob Hentschel predicted Grand Traverse County would see 200,000+ residents within commissioners’ lifetimes – space constraints and future capacity are also top of mind.

Some county commissioners agreed Wednesday that certain departments – like administration, human resources, and information technology – could likely be relocated to LaFranier. Other positions – particularly elected positions like the sheriff – need to maintain at least a presence in the city as the county’s seat. Both boards discussed the possibility of a new jail or law enforcement center at the Boardman campus that could potentially house multiple local law enforcement agencies in one facility. If county commissioners approve Project Alpha – an expansion project planned for LaFranier – the county’s 911 department could also soon move to that campus.

The LaFranier expansion and a potential new jail are “dominoes” that will be impacted by any decisions about the future of the Governmental Center, County Commission Vice Chair TJ Andrews pointed out. “We're not going to be able to navel gaze for the next eighteen months about this issue, because that's going to hold other projects up,” she said, adding she had a “sense of urgency because of the contingent decisions that are interrelated.” Commissioner Darryl Nelson agreed, saying that the large amount of building and property space at the Governmental Center provides “room to do a lot of different things” and should be approached creatively.

Both boards agreed to have an existing building committee for the Governmental Center – consisting of the county administrator, city manager, city mayor, and county commission chair – evaluate the list of needed repairs and bring back recommendations for discussion at a joint meeting, which could then help guide a bigger-picture discussion about the property.

Commission Chair Scott Sieffert said officials will likely need to meet “more often, not less often” to keep momentum going. Ownership and cost splits for any major Governmental Center reconfigurations will also need to be addressed between the county and city. 

“This is going to take a while, whatever we decide to do,” said County Commissioner Fern Spence.