Coming soon in 2026
2026 will see the start of construction for the new Antrim County Safety Center. Photo by Mark McAlpine
By Mark McAlpine, Contributing Writer
This is the final article of a two-part series on local government accomplishments in 2025 and what’s ahead for Elk Rapids and Antrim County in 2026.
Following the voter approval for the District Library project in August, Antrim County submitted their own request to the voters on the November ballot for approval to begin construction of a new Safety Center in Bellaire that would house the Antrim County Jail and a central facility to house the Sheriff’s staff, a new emergency dispatch center, facilities for county emergency response training, and a community mental health center.
With that voter approval, the county is moving quickly to chart a course in 2026 to finalize designs, and construction plans with a fall 2026 planned construction start. According to County Supervisor Jeremy Scott, Plante Moran Realpoint has been hired to provide comprehensive construction and facility recommendations to the county. Plante Moran will be asked to verify all cost estimates and assist the county as they work through the building design alternatives. The preconstruction contract for the project was awarded to The Christman Company. Elk Rapids native Matt Conrad, Project Manager for The Christman Company, will be the lead on the pre-construction project, which will include budgets and initial drawings. Abonmarche-Byce, with headquarters in Kalamazoo, was selected by the county board for the site development, architectural, and engineering services for the $27 million project.
Scott confirmed that the Village of Bellaire voted in 2025 to vacate Grove Street to allow the county to utilize that space for the new building. He indicated that it would take time to follow state required circuit court procedures to notify nearby property owners of that decision. With the court requirement and the delay caused by the signature campaign that resulted in the November ballot proposition, Scott indicated that the county will be pushing hard to complete the design and engineering phases to begin construction in the fall of 2026. The current jail will continue to be fully operational through the construction phase for the new safety center.
In addition to the Flats on Bridge Project, Elk Rapids Village Manager David Tait will be gearing up to put the final additions on the Ames Street project in 2026. In 2025, the village was able to install new sidewalks, curbing, grass, and trees on the north side of Ames Street up to Pearl’s Restaurant, new benches on both sides of the road and some infrastructure for lighting and hi-speed fiber optic services. Village funds, a commitment from the DDA, and a Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Revitalization and Placemaking Program (RAP) 2.0 grant paid for the 2025 work. Thanks to additional funding from MEDC in the form of a 2.0 grant addendum, funds are now in place to finish the electrical and fiber optic work and install street lighting with banner fixtures along the new sidewalk.
According to Tait, the estimated cost for the lighting project will be covered by the 2.0 amendment funding. The village was scheduled to go out for bid on the Ames Street Streetscape Lighting Project by the end of December with bids due by January 20. Tait hopes to bring a contract recommendation to Village Council at their February 3 meeting. Tait confirmed that some funds were still available from the original 2.0 grant and will be used to cover the purchase and installation of four powered crosswalk indicators on posts. According to Tait, whatever is left will be put into the lighting project.
When asked about extending the sidewalk project out to the new district library property line, Tait could not commit to that completion in 2026. “As part of the lighting project, when it was designed, the sidewalk was planned all of the way to the library,” Tait explained. “I have reignited that plan and have asked Gosling Czubak Engineering to update the cost estimate for that phase of the sidewalk to match up with the library sidewalk plans across their project lines. To me, that is an important project.”
According to Tait, the Ames Street lighting will be installed in two phases. “From Henry Street to US31, the lighting will be decorative 12-foot posts with banner rods and electrical outlets for decorations. From Henry Street, as you transition out of the downtown area, we will install more of a commercial look to keep costs down with 20-foot lights. We hope to install two or three of those lights if funding permits.” Tait indicated that the village would include an August 5 completion target in the bid package for the lighting project in the hopes of having the work completed by 2026 Harbor Days.
The 2026 sewer project is a continuation of multiple projects started in 2025 and funded by a $5 million bond issuance. The large Mitchell Street project and smaller alley projects are 2025 projects close to completion. At a December Village Council meeting, Tait was given authorization to enter into a contract with Gosling Czubak Engineering for a sewer collection and treatment capacity evaluation. “Because of our combined sewers,” Tait explained, “we have to know how much rainwater we are treating and how much sanitary sewage we are treating. We have to know the capacity of our system to handle that.” The study will provide Tait with a complete overview of the age of the infrastructure, the inflow problem locations, and the size and capacity of the pump stations. According to Tait, with the village and township hoping to expand sewer use in both the north and south directions, the study is a much needed first step in a long-term plan and evaluation of the complete collection system and treatment plant.
Michigan Rural Water Association (MRWA), a volunteer organization that supports rural communities, was scheduled for a fall 2025 smoke test in Elk Rapids to identify rainwater connections into the sewer system and leaks in the system. That testing has been rescheduled for early spring 2026. Tait is hoping that Gosling will pull together the smoke test results, results from the recently completed Stormwater, Asset Management, and Wastewater (SAW) Grant study, budget planned 2026 projects, and their own studies into one complete system- wide planning report. Tate hopes to present the Gosling report to the Village Council and township with a goal to develop a new five-year sewer plan.
Planned 2026 sewer projects include a redirection of a sewer line currently under a Burnette Foods facility, updates to Lake Street and Honcho Rest lift stations, final engineering and bids for a proposed update of the Lake Street sewer lines and planning for sewer expansion on south US31 to support new commercial growth. “We need to look at our current position, how we make our current infrastructure more efficient to improve capacity, and what we need to do to increase capacity if we want to grow,” Tait explained. “There will be a cost to that growth, and we need to understand that part of the story.”
Many more Elk Rapids projects not included in this report will have their beginnings in 2026 but will not see significant action until 2027. They include the future plans for the Island House, Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor revitalization plans, repairs to the upper harbor walkway and Dexter Street bridge and spillway and downtown Elk Rapids streetscape projects. It will be a busy year ahead for Elk Rapids.
This is the final article of a two-part series on local government accomplishments in 2025 and what’s ahead for Elk Rapids and Antrim County in 2026.
Following the voter approval for the District Library project in August, Antrim County submitted their own request to the voters on the November ballot for approval to begin construction of a new Safety Center in Bellaire that would house the Antrim County Jail and a central facility to house the Sheriff’s staff, a new emergency dispatch center, facilities for county emergency response training, and a community mental health center.
With that voter approval, the county is moving quickly to chart a course in 2026 to finalize designs, and construction plans with a fall 2026 planned construction start. According to County Supervisor Jeremy Scott, Plante Moran Realpoint has been hired to provide comprehensive construction and facility recommendations to the county. Plante Moran will be asked to verify all cost estimates and assist the county as they work through the building design alternatives. The preconstruction contract for the project was awarded to The Christman Company. Elk Rapids native Matt Conrad, Project Manager for The Christman Company, will be the lead on the pre-construction project, which will include budgets and initial drawings. Abonmarche-Byce, with headquarters in Kalamazoo, was selected by the county board for the site development, architectural, and engineering services for the $27 million project.
Scott confirmed that the Village of Bellaire voted in 2025 to vacate Grove Street to allow the county to utilize that space for the new building. He indicated that it would take time to follow state required circuit court procedures to notify nearby property owners of that decision. With the court requirement and the delay caused by the signature campaign that resulted in the November ballot proposition, Scott indicated that the county will be pushing hard to complete the design and engineering phases to begin construction in the fall of 2026. The current jail will continue to be fully operational through the construction phase for the new safety center.
In addition to the Flats on Bridge Project, Elk Rapids Village Manager David Tait will be gearing up to put the final additions on the Ames Street project in 2026. In 2025, the village was able to install new sidewalks, curbing, grass, and trees on the north side of Ames Street up to Pearl’s Restaurant, new benches on both sides of the road and some infrastructure for lighting and hi-speed fiber optic services. Village funds, a commitment from the DDA, and a Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Revitalization and Placemaking Program (RAP) 2.0 grant paid for the 2025 work. Thanks to additional funding from MEDC in the form of a 2.0 grant addendum, funds are now in place to finish the electrical and fiber optic work and install street lighting with banner fixtures along the new sidewalk.
According to Tait, the estimated cost for the lighting project will be covered by the 2.0 amendment funding. The village was scheduled to go out for bid on the Ames Street Streetscape Lighting Project by the end of December with bids due by January 20. Tait hopes to bring a contract recommendation to Village Council at their February 3 meeting. Tait confirmed that some funds were still available from the original 2.0 grant and will be used to cover the purchase and installation of four powered crosswalk indicators on posts. According to Tait, whatever is left will be put into the lighting project.
When asked about extending the sidewalk project out to the new district library property line, Tait could not commit to that completion in 2026. “As part of the lighting project, when it was designed, the sidewalk was planned all of the way to the library,” Tait explained. “I have reignited that plan and have asked Gosling Czubak Engineering to update the cost estimate for that phase of the sidewalk to match up with the library sidewalk plans across their project lines. To me, that is an important project.”
According to Tait, the Ames Street lighting will be installed in two phases. “From Henry Street to US31, the lighting will be decorative 12-foot posts with banner rods and electrical outlets for decorations. From Henry Street, as you transition out of the downtown area, we will install more of a commercial look to keep costs down with 20-foot lights. We hope to install two or three of those lights if funding permits.” Tait indicated that the village would include an August 5 completion target in the bid package for the lighting project in the hopes of having the work completed by 2026 Harbor Days.
The 2026 sewer project is a continuation of multiple projects started in 2025 and funded by a $5 million bond issuance. The large Mitchell Street project and smaller alley projects are 2025 projects close to completion. At a December Village Council meeting, Tait was given authorization to enter into a contract with Gosling Czubak Engineering for a sewer collection and treatment capacity evaluation. “Because of our combined sewers,” Tait explained, “we have to know how much rainwater we are treating and how much sanitary sewage we are treating. We have to know the capacity of our system to handle that.” The study will provide Tait with a complete overview of the age of the infrastructure, the inflow problem locations, and the size and capacity of the pump stations. According to Tait, with the village and township hoping to expand sewer use in both the north and south directions, the study is a much needed first step in a long-term plan and evaluation of the complete collection system and treatment plant.
Michigan Rural Water Association (MRWA), a volunteer organization that supports rural communities, was scheduled for a fall 2025 smoke test in Elk Rapids to identify rainwater connections into the sewer system and leaks in the system. That testing has been rescheduled for early spring 2026. Tait is hoping that Gosling will pull together the smoke test results, results from the recently completed Stormwater, Asset Management, and Wastewater (SAW) Grant study, budget planned 2026 projects, and their own studies into one complete system- wide planning report. Tate hopes to present the Gosling report to the Village Council and township with a goal to develop a new five-year sewer plan.
Planned 2026 sewer projects include a redirection of a sewer line currently under a Burnette Foods facility, updates to Lake Street and Honcho Rest lift stations, final engineering and bids for a proposed update of the Lake Street sewer lines and planning for sewer expansion on south US31 to support new commercial growth. “We need to look at our current position, how we make our current infrastructure more efficient to improve capacity, and what we need to do to increase capacity if we want to grow,” Tait explained. “There will be a cost to that growth, and we need to understand that part of the story.”
Many more Elk Rapids projects not included in this report will have their beginnings in 2026 but will not see significant action until 2027. They include the future plans for the Island House, Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor revitalization plans, repairs to the upper harbor walkway and Dexter Street bridge and spillway and downtown Elk Rapids streetscape projects. It will be a busy year ahead for Elk Rapids.
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