Construction of the Freshwater Research and Innovation Center is expected to start in October. The goal of the center is to make northern Michigan a leader in freshwater and marine technologies. It will be located at the current Discovery Center and Pier campus in Elmwood Township.
Discovery Pier CEO Matt McDonough said they plan to go out for bids on the project in the next few months. But before that, they need approval from Elmwood Township for the site plan serving their unique research, community outreach, and education purposes.
The Elmwood Township planning commission will consider approving a planned development application for the Freshwater Center following a Feb. 11 public hearing.
The Freshwater Center will bring together Discover Pier, higher education, and business and nonprofit sectors in a new 40,000-square-foot facility to develop new “blue” technologies. It will include specialized labs, offices, a public exhibit space, and more. New technologies and equipment will be tested in West Grand Traverse Bay by students and researchers.
Material from Northwestern Michigan College and Discovery Pier says the facility is at a prime location for studying the impacts of “climate change, variability in lake levels, invasive species, PFAS, microplastics, and other evolving conditions, which significantly influence its populations, ecosystems, economy, and environment.”
“To protect our freshwater resources for future generations, we need collaborative scientifi c research, advanced technologies, and an educated workforce to assess impacts, address threats, and develop solutions,” the project overview says. “The proposed Freshwater Research and Innovation Center (Freshwater Center) aims to be the epicenter for that important work.”
Although groundbreaking at the Freshwater Center is scheduled for fall, McDonough does not expect it to be completed until March or April 2027. The project will be split into two halves, with the first half starting this fall and finishing by the end of next year.
One reason for the long construction time is funding cutoff dates. The 2024 state budget allocated $15 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the Freshwater Center, and the deadline for spending ARPA money is Dec. 31, 2026, with the unspent money to be returned to the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The Freshwater Center’s ARPA funds are being spent on the first half of the project to meet this deadline, and private philanthropic donations will be used to complete the center. McDonough said they will continue to search for additional donations through January 2027, as the project is not fully funded yet.
“The initial cost estimate for the project was $26 million. That cost has increased substantially for a number of reasons,” McDonough said. “But we don’t have the luxury of waiting to raise all the funds before starting to build something.”
According to the most recent project overview at the time of writing, the Freshwater Center has secured about $25.2 million out of a $33.6 million total project cost, or 75% of their goal.
