Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) trustees will vote to approve the $17.2 million construction of a new fieldhouse and after-school clubhouse next to East Middle School at their 5pm meeting tonight (Monday). The project, which is being funded by over $9 million in 2018 district bond funds and over $8 million in local donations, is set to break ground this spring and be open by the 2027-28 school year.

Trustees will vote tonight to approve construction contracts for the new facility, which will be over 125,000 square feet and include full competition size football/soccer/lacrosse fields, a six-lane 330-meter track, and batting cages. The project also includes an attached clubhouse, office, restrooms, storage space, parking, and site lighting, with space for future uses. The clubhouse is a new element requested by community members that will provide space for after-school programming, TCAPS Superintendent Dr. John VanWagoner tells The Ticker.

“That was not in the initial plan, but it was something they wanted to see and we absolutely see a need for it,” VanWagoner says. TCAPS has met with SEEDS – which helps runs a program for the Montessori school – to partner on providing after-school programming at the new clubhouse. “Once we get this up and running, we also want to get something up and running on the west side,” VanWagoner says. “Our ultimate goal is to have after-school programming, whether it’s robotics or environmental or physical education, on both sides of town.”
 
The fieldhouse is intended to address a long-time need for more year-round, indoor sports spaces. One or more fieldhouses have been discussed for years by district leaders and organizations like Traverse City Tourism. Both the community need and the expense of such a facility – even one that has come in slightly under an initial $17.3 million estimate – led to a unique funding model that’s heavily fueled by local donations.
 
TCAPS, which has already spent $650,000 for architectural and engineering services through TMP Architecture, will cover another $9.3 million using 2018 bond proceeds. The Northern Michigan Homefield Alliance (NMHA) – a local group of parents, alumni, and community members led by Jessica Sullivan that has championed a new fieldhouse for several years – is contributing $6 million. NMHA had previously committed to fundraising a significant portion of the project costs. The group noted that districts much smaller than Traverse City’s – such as Mackinaw City, with 155 students – have access to indoor sports complexes while the more than 8,000 TCAPS students do not. A new state-of-the-art facility would “open up greater possibilities for students and families across northern Michigan,” NMHA previously said.

Traverse City Tourism is kicking in $1.5 million for the fieldhouse. Other funding sources include the Joseph G. & Helen I. Zimmerman Charitable Trust ($900,000), Munson ($250,000), East Bay Township ($185,856), and Road Runners Club of America/Traverse City Track Club ($100,000). Cherryland Electric Cooperative will cover electric utility construction costs and support for energy-efficient amenities, providing an expected in-kind value of $80,000. Some of the contributions will be honored with sponsorship signage per donation agreements.

The board’s vote tonight to authorize construction contracts, which are being awarded to a variety of bidders for different project components, stipulates that TCAPS must first collect $6 million of the community donations before VanWagoner can execute the majority of the contracts. Once $7.125 million has been collected, the last major contract can be executed. The project cost includes a 9.28 percent contingency and also establishes a $500,000 maintenance fund to provide ongoing support for the facility “so it doesn’t have to draw from district or bond resources in the future,” VanWagoner says.

A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for May, weather depending. Excavation would then begin, with work on the building itself likely to kick off in August or September. Work will continue over the next year, with a targeted opening in time for the 2027-28 school year. Construction is not expected to disrupt East Middle School, as the facility is being built on adjacent land on Carlisle Road. Hallmark Construction is serving as construction manager.

While primarily designed for TCAPS students, the facility will have community programming as well. There will be access for groups like Traverse City Track Club to walk/jog in the facility in early morning or evening hours, and planned regional sports tournaments that could serve as a major draw for Traverse City – a reason Traverse City Tourism was keen to invest. VanWagoner says TCAPS will focus on hosting the types of tournaments at which its own students typically compete, such as soccer, track, or wrestling tournaments.
 
In the time TCAPS has begun planning its fieldhouse, the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA has announced its own $12.5 million expansion on Silver Lake Road – with a future phase of growth to include a new fieldhouse. VanWagoner doesn’t see the facilities as competing, however. TCAPS works closely with the Y – almost 100 West Middle School students go there every day, he says, and TCAPS students learn to swim there – and will now finally have another facility available for families to use on the east side. “This gives us the best of both worlds, to have opportunities for kids on both sides of town,” VanWagoner says.

The fieldhouse is one of several significant capital projects TCAPS is undertaking this year. Also on deck are the planned reconstruction of Central Grade School, continued work on traffic and parking at TC West Senior High School this summer, and music classroom renovations starting this spring at West Middle School. Once those projects are underway, VanWagoner says the district will revive discussions on another major initiative: a TC Central High renovation project estimated at over $20 million. “We slowed just a touch on that, wanting to make sure everything else was ready, but we’ll pick that back up possibly later this summer,” VanWagoner says.