GRAND RAPIDS, June 30, 2021 – The Gerald R. Ford International Airport broke ground on a new $7.7 million operations center that will streamline and improve efficiencies for day-to-day management. Pioneer Construction is serving as the project general contractor with DLZ is serving as architect.
The new facility will consolidate key teams such as operations and communications, including dispatch, as well as the new emergency operations center, or EOC. The EOC is activated during an emergency at the Ford Airport and can also support public safety agencies throughout Kent County. The user-friendly building, which will be staffed 24/7, will be built to withstand extreme weather conditions, including winds up to 250 miles-per-hour. It will have purposeful redundancies in technologies and communication channels to ensure services continue during an emergency.
“This project represents the culmination of years of efforts to realign and streamline our operations and public safety functions,” said Dan Koorndyk, board chair of the Gerald R. Ford Airport Authority. “By bringing our teams under one roof, we’ll be able to ensure we are providing the best possible service to our guests, tenants and the greater West Michigan community.”
The construction of the project will also be supported by Cripps Fontaine Excavating Inc., CS Erickson, Forman Glass, Gale Plumbing & Hydronics Inc., Level 5 Commercial Finishing, Metal Tech Building Specialists, SecurAlarm, VanLaan Concrete Construction, Van Dyken Mechanical, Van Dellen Steel and Westmaas Electric. The building will be furnished by Haworth through Interphase. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of June 2022.
