DETROIT – Mayor Mary Sheffield has joined with officials across the state to dedicate a new $160 million DDOT terminal complex to be the main base of operations on the city’s west side.
The new facility will replace the former Coolidge Terminal, destroyed by a fire in 2011 and demolished in 2023.
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The new 200,000-square-foot, three building terminal complex will provide a base for operations, maintenance, and storage for the Department of Transportation.
Gilbert terminal will be demolished to the new Coolidge Terminal.
DDOT’s eastside base will continue to be the Shoemaker Terminal near I-94 and Connor.
“Our DDOT drivers and mechanics are critical to making sure our residents can get to work, to school, their doctor’s appointment or to store, and absolutely essential to our city’s economy,” said Mayor Sheffield. “They deserve to have a first-class facility to support them and now they do.”
Here’s a breakdown of the new facility
The total cost of $160 million comes from three sources: $102.5M - Federal Transit Administration, $31.5M - City funding, $25.6M - Michigan Department of Transportation.
The new terminal will have climate-controlled bus storage, maintenance and operations facilities, and a new administration building with an indoor-outdoor employee lounge, kitchen, workout room, lockers and showers.
The new Coolidge Terminal Complex will have three separate buildings, each with a specific purpose.
A 121,192 square foot climate-controlled storage building, will house up to 120 buses during overnight hours, both while not in service and undergoing maintenance.
A section of the building will include bays for vehicles to be washed regularly, preventing maintenance issues.
A 54,293 square foot maintenance building, will be for buses to undergo routine maintenance and routine repairs conducted.
A 16,922 square foot administration building, will house offices and employee amenities.
The project was designed to include strategically positioned and prepared areas for expansion of all three buildings to accommodate future capacity.
The original Coolidge Terminal, was located at 14044 Schaefer Highway, north of I-96 in Detroit, operated transit service from 1928 until 2011.
Plans to rebuild the facility were put on hold after Detroit’s bankruptcy in 2013.
DDOT began Research for rebuilding the terminal in 2019, a facilities master planning initiative was completed in 2021.
After considering options to continue using the site with no improvements, re-using existing buildings, and a blend of reuse and building new, DDOT determined that the best course of action was to build an entirely new facility.