Metro RTA Opens $61 Million Garage in Akron, Replacing 40-Year-Old Depot

Metro Regional Transit Authority's new maintenance and operations building cost $61 million, with more than $37 million coming from a federal grant. The facility covers more than 107,000 square feet and includes a body shop, a paint booth, a dispatch center, and space for safety and training work.

The structure replaces a depot that opened more than 40 years ago. That older building was built to hold 90 buses. Metro's fleet now numbers more than 230, and the agency said the old space no longer fit the work.

The building also carries a fitness center, a quiet room, a sleep room, and a dayroom lounge. Outside, the site has patios, a walking path, and a meadow. The new layout is intended for bus operators, mechanics, and the crews that clean and maintain the buses.

Jarrod Hampshire, chief of staff for Metro Regional Transit Authority, said the setup lets a bus stay in one spot while work is completed. "We really have the space where we can put a bus in. Here's everything that needs fixed. Here's all the preventative work that needs done, and then it can stay there until it's done. So we're moving people and not assets," Hampshire said.

Metro said the facility leaves room for electric and natural gas buses and gives the team more space to train drivers. Maintenance crews have worked out of the new building for about two months. Operations staff were scheduled to move in Thursday.