A new state-of-the art transportation hub opened Saturday at the former Michigan State Fairgrounds.
The facility, at Eight Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, is named after Jason Hargrove, a Detroit Department of Transportation bus driver who died from COVID-19 in 2020 during the early days of the pandemic, leaving behind his wife and six children. Days before his death, Hargrove expressed his frustration as a public worker after he said a mask-less passenger coughed without covering her mouth.
Frequent rider Breanna Webster was among the Detroiters visiting the newly opened center on Saturday. She said it’ll be a helpful space for travelers and was impressed to see that it pays homage to Hargrove.
“He was a bus driver who was about his job,” she said. “He showed up every day to work on time, even before the pandemic. He was a true unspoken hero.”
The Jason Hargrove Transit Center is part of a $31 million redevelopment of a 52,000-square-foot former Dairy Cattle Barn, restored portico and an outdoor space, according to the city. The center is expected to serve both DDOT and SMART bus riders, ride share customers and people using MoGo bikes and scooters.
The center’s interior features retail and restaurant options, an indoor lobby, a ticket office and public restrooms. Additionally, there is a dedicated lounge and restroom area for transit operators to ensure they have a comfortable space between shifts.
Webster reminisced Saturday about her childhood trips to the fairgrounds, seeing horses and blue-ribbon cows. Webster, who rides the bus six days a week, said the new building will serve the community and shield riders from the elements.
“The rain, the snow, we never know with pure Michigan weather. Like today is a rainy day. It could rain at any moment, I could walk right in here and get out of the way,” she said, noting temporary accommodations nearby didn’t suit the volume of people who came through.
“The mayor has been trying to bring the city back to what it used to be and we’re moving forward,” she added.
The opening of the center marks a significant milestone in enhancing public transportation accessibility within the city, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said.
“For years, DDOT riders have complained to me about having to wait for bus transfers in the rain, snow, cold, or the heat of hot summer days,” Duggan said in a Saturday news release. “Now, our most popular transit center not only will provide our passengers with protection from the elements, the dedicated spaces for DDOT staff to rest and reboot show our continued commitment to our drivers.”
With the opening, the city closed a temporary fairgrounds transfer area on Woodward, just south of Eight Mile. The transit center, located at 1121 W. Eight Mile Rd., will serve the following routes: 4 Woodward, 12 Conant, 17 Eight Mile, 30 Livernois and 54 Wyoming.
The indoor space will be open 24 hours and will be patrolled by the Detroit Police Department, according to the city.
Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @NushratR.
Quinn Banks contributed to this report