KALAMAZOO, MI — Kalamazoo County will spend at least $100 million on a project to build new administration building downtown, county leaders said.
The new, approximately 120,000-square-foot structure will be built across the street from the current admin building, along Kalamazoo Avenue, where a McDonald’s currently sits and on adjacent plots.
That’s double the size of the current administration building.
With an onsite parking garage housing around 440 spaces, the new development will take up the full city block, County Administrator/Controller Kevin A. Catlin said.
The county is planning to purchase a city-owned parking lot currently leased to Metro to complete the block, he told MLive in an interview this week.
The county will first build a parking structure and then move onto the the rest of the work in phases, he said.
The multi-story building is still yet to be designed, he said, but it will be five or so floors with a designing allowing construction of more floors on top of it later.
The parking structure would allow public access, he said, though specifics are yet to be determined. Chair Jen Strebs said the county would like to come up with a fee system that would allow people to park there for free for some time.
Asked about possible criticism of the project — the most expensive building the county has constructed — officials said this is the right move to move the county in the right direction over the next several decades.
“This is not just something for the needs of today,” Strebs said. It will give them a chance to centralize services, while remaining in the core downtown of the county seat.
They have a chance to reimagine what the building could be for county staff and the community. They envision creative uses of the space, like a possible on-site employee gym, food/retail options or meeting spaces for the public to use.
While it gives the county room to grow and add staff, all areas of the building will be engaged once its built, Strebs said.
Located next to the courthouse, it gives the county the opportunity to create synergy, Strebs said.
The construction project is the county’s most expensive ever, due in part to its scale and the inclusion of prospective mixed-use components designed to complement the new building, Public Information Officer Taylor Koopman said.
The project that incorporates a full city block and interconnected parking garage is also one of the most complex developments in county history, she said.
The current Kalamazoo County administration building.(Brad Devereaux | bdeverea@mlive.com)
Asked about how the expenditure balances with other needs in the community, officials said the new building will set them up to do vital work for the future.
Other important issues, including homelessness, housing, gun violence remain top priorities, and the board spends significant money on those as well, he said.
“We’ve made large investments (for members of the houseless community) and we’re going to continue,” Strebs said.
They said the amounts being spent in priority areas over time reflect the same or more than they are spending on the facility, which is a one-time expenditure.
Officials pointed out they’ve spent about $24 million this year on housing initiatives and around $18 million to acquire property and pay for a service contract to run a homeless shelter for families.
Officials said they agree the new administration facility is an important piece to move the county forward over a long term.
They weigh how these important issues could be impacted while they take action in different areas. Strebs said she sees the synergy of the different issues as important to evaluate which actions to take and to focus on.
The new admin building will be financed using a combination of cash and bonds, Catlin said.
The $100 million is just for construction, officials said, and it does not include the millions in property acquisitions needed for the work, including $9 million for the McDonald’s property. They’ve bought other parcels in recent years.
When shopping for a site, other properties considered were either nearly the same or much higher to acquire, officials said.
Price was one consideration, Catlin said, but ultimately the Kalamazoo Avenue site was the best choice for what the county needed.
Strebs said the McDonald’s was expected to close independently of the county’s purchase.
In its place, the county is hoping to build community.
“We really want to come forward with something that long term promotes that sort of flexible and innovative structure for government functions, but also is a block that re-engages and creates synergy for the community,” Strebs said.
Strebs and her colleagues on the board will be able to help chose the next owner of the current administration building, which was appraised in recent years and valued over $4 million.
When will the super-sized admin building be ready? It will take a bit longer than a Big Mac.
Current estimates place the facility’s opening about 3 years from now, in 2028.
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