Commission approves draft program and hires Clark Construction to advance Birmingham Community and Senior Center at 400 East Lincoln

The Birmingham City Commission on Feb. 24 approved a draft building program for a proposed Birmingham Community and Senior Center at 400 East Lincoln and selected Clark Construction to serve as construction manager, clearing the way for architects to produce test-fit plans and for preconstruction cost verification.

The vote followed presentations from Birmingham Next, a local senior services nonprofit, and the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit’s Birmingham branch. Chris Braun, executive director of Birmingham Next, described the organization’s mix of free and low-cost services for older residents and its volunteer base of roughly 200; Parish Underwood, president and CEO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit, and Kelly Stuve, executive director of the Birmingham YMCA branch, outlined the YMCA’s programs for people of all ages and the organizations’ case for sharing a new building footprint. Underwood said the YMCA and Next could provide “a continuum of service” under one roof and stressed the YMCA’s long institutional history in the region.

Commissioners voted 4–3 to approve the concept-level draft program, which lists a total gross area of about 47,120 square feet after staff and consultant reductions made at the commission’s request. The motion authorized staff to proceed with test-fit layouts and further design development by Newman Smith Architects and to continue preconstruction cost work. The commission also approved a separate motion to award construction management services to Clark Construction and authorized negotiating a contract not to exceed the amount the commission set aside for preconstruction and construction (the motion as presented to the commission referenced a $32 million construction-authorization figure). That award passed on a 5–2 roll call.

Why it matters: City leaders have framed the project as a way to consolidate services used by both younger and older residents, improve programming space, and replace aging facilities. Commissioners and the public discussed operating growth projections, space tradeoffs, and whether the program as drafted fits on the site and into the city’s budget assumptions. Supporters argued a joint facility would allow Next and the YMCA to expand programs; some commissioners warned that the program and future bond or funding plans must be tightly cost‑verified before…