Maj. Gen. Darren Werner addresses the audience at the groundbreaking.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow at the ground breaking ceremony

Sen. Gary Peters at the groundbreaking ceremony

Rep. Stone and Sen. Wojno present a special tribute to Maj. Gen. Werner.

Maj. Gen. Werner, Sen. Stabenow, Sen. Peters and Garrison Manager Carrie Mead move the ceremonial first shovel of dirt.

Maj. Gen. Werner, Rep. Stone, Sen. Wojno and Garrison Manager Carrie Mead move a ceremonial shovel of dirt.

The Detroit Arsenal held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new electrical substation May 10 at 10 a.m. at the new substation site.

It became apparent 15 years ago, that the existing power sources at the Detroit Arsenal would not meet future requirements and could not be upgraded. This lack of power directly impacts the Detroit Arsenal master planning requirements and everyone on the installation. Without it, facilities and programs planned over the next several years will not be fully functional and it will impede future missions.

Maj. Gen. Darren Werner, commanding general Tank-automotive and Armaments Command said, "Without the ability to provide adequate power to our facilities, our shared mission of supporting the needs of the Army and the Soldier would be hindered. The substation is needed to support Ground Vehicle System Center revitalization projects and emerging Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation missions."

The socially-distanced ceremony was attended by U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters along with State Senator Paul Wojno, State Representative Lori Stone and other local dignitaries.  Wojno and Stone presented a special tribute to Werner for the electrical substation.

“Military power means agility and intelligence. It means people, it means security. That’s why this project is so very important,” said Stabenow. “I’m so pleased we were able to work together to get this funded.”

Adding this 40 megawatt substation to the Detroit Arsenal footprint will not only increase the  power needed to support future construction but will also help reduce off-post leases.

“I think it’s important to note that this $24M is actually the largest investment in Department of Defense facilities in Michigan in over five years,” said Peters. “So this is a really big deal that we’re celebrating here.”

The substation is projected to cost $24 million. Formal design started in August 2020 and culminated in our ground breaking today. The anticipated completion date is August 2022, with the substation coming on-line in November 2022.