FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Courtesy of Great Lakes Energy
January 13, 2020
Great Lakes Energy Announces Design of Headquarters Addition
BOYNE CITY, MI –Great Lakes Energy Cooperative (GLE) announced plans and a design concept for an addition to their headquarters building located at 1323 Boyne Avenue in Boyne City. Last spring, GLE purchased adjacent property, formerly a Carter’s Food Center, to accommodate the building expansion.
White & Liebler Architects of Petoskey is the lead architectural design firm on the project. Clark Construction Company, headquartered in Lansing, has been secured to provide construction management oversight. Clark Construction will begin seeking bids for work on the new facility in the coming months as plans are finalized.
The plans include the addition of office and operations vehicle storage as well as minor remodeling to the existing headquarters building. The first phase of the building addition will be constructed on the north side of the existing GLE headquarters and will house the utility’s operations staff, equipment and vehicles. The second building addition will be constructed to the west, in the former Carter’s building footprint, and will house GLE’s 24/7 dispatch center as well as accounting and engineering offices. The current headquarters building will sustain some remodeling to accommodate the growing utility workforce and Truestream internet network operations center and staff. A potential new meeting and boardroom space are also included in the plan drawings to the east of the existing building but are not part of the initial phase of construction.
Work has already begun on the project with the demolition of the former Carter’s Food Center building in late 2019. A groundbreaking for the new building will take place in the coming months and construction will commence soon after.
The new space will provide much-needed infrastructure and space for the growth the electric cooperative has experienced in recent years. Truestream, GLE’s new fiber internet and voice network, plays a vital role in the need to expand. Launched in 2018 in rural parts of Emmet, Charlevoix and Cheboygan counties, Truestream brings high-speed internet, with speeds up to 1 Gig, and voice services to homes and businesses that have long been without broadband connectivity. Truestream has created local employment opportunities and with it a need for more office and warehouse space.
“The growth of our facility is a sign of progress for Great Lakes Energy, our Truestream network and the communities we serve,” said Bill Scott, President and CEO. “The new building will accommodate our employee needs as we work to serve members with electricity and fiber internet throughout rural Michigan.”
GLE’s board of directors approved the building expansion at their December board meeting.
###
About Great Lakes Energy and Truestream: As the largest electric cooperative utility in the state and one of the largest in the nation, GLE serves more than 120,000 electric cooperative members in 26 counties in western, lower Michigan. The cooperative operates eight offices throughout its service area. For more information about Great Lakes Energy visit gtlakes.com. For more information about Truestream visit truestreamfiber.com.
For more information about White & Liebler Architects visit nickwhite.com.
For more information about the Clark Construction Company visit clarkcc.com.
Shari Culver
Vice President, Communications and Member Services
Great Lakes Energy
888-GT-LAKES, ext. 1313
sculver@glenergy.com
Truestream high-speed fiber internet is here! Visit jointruestream.com.
