BATA Board Approves Sale Of Cass Road Headquarters Building

The Bay Area Transportation Authority’s (BATA) Board of Directors is in the process of selling the agency’s current operations center located at 3233 Cass Road, Traverse City, MI. The sale is in preparation for BATA to move into a new headquarters in 2024 currently being built on Hammond Road.

The Cass Road property was listed for $1.9 million on July 12, 2023, and BATA’s Board received two offers. One offer was for $2.1 million from LCR Properties of Michigan, LLC, and the other was for $1.93 million from Versa Development, LLC.

At a special meeting on Aug. 24, the BATA Board authorized BATA Executive Director Kelly Dunham to execute a purchase agreement for the highest offer received by the deadline. The new owners, Bob and Leslie Roe, of Precision Plumbing and Heating Systems, plan to use the property for the future operations center of their local heating, plumbing and electrical business. They have shown generous support to BATA’s financial goals by offering the next year as rent free.

“The sale of BATA’s current headquarters is the next positive step as we continue our transition into a new state-of-the-art transit facility next summer,” BATA Executive Director Kelly Dunham said.

BATA’s listing agents communicated a deadline for best and final offers to be submitted by Aug. 1, 2023, to be considered, and a specific process for soliciting and reviewing the offers was followed.

“This is an exciting time for our region, and the sale of this property sets the stage to continue to grow and meet the expanding needs of public transit in our community,” BATA Board Chairperson Richard Cochrun said.

BATA will continue to occupy the Cass Road facility until September 2024. Proceeds from the sale of this property will contribute to the cost of BATA’s new headquarters.

With more than 110 employees, BATA provides more than 390,000 annual rides to residents and visitors in Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties. The transit authority offers Loop service with dedicated routes and fixed stops, its Bayline route with free 20-minute frequency, as well as Link service with on-demand transportation. In addition, BATA has introduced programs like Bike-n-Ride and Ski-n-Ride. Visit bata.net.