City OKs $11 million renovation of 150 E. Crosstown to house Public Safety, planning and a community meeting center

The Kalamazoo City Commission approved a suite of contracts Monday to move forward with a phased renovation of the city-owned building at 150 East Crosstown Parkway, a roughly $11 million project that will consolidate portions of the Department of Public Safety and city administrative teams and create a large community meeting room.

The work will remodel part of the former Sears building to create a combined public lobby, downtown police station and a large configurable meeting space made by combining three former courtrooms. The project team said the facility will also include training and fitness space for staff and a virtual-reality training room for public-safety personnel.

Architect Intersect Studio presented the design and budget history to the commission. The project began as a broader master plan and initial cost estimate near $15 million; value engineering and scope adjustments brought the construction-plus-soft-costs estimate down to roughly $11 million. Intersect said the design process included departmental workshops, surveys of staff needs and public-use goals. Work was bid publicly and the commission approved the contracts needed to proceed with construction and related services.

Contract approvals included general construction, construction management, engineering and AV/technology allowances; the commission approved those items as a single package under agenda H4. Commissioners said the project will be phased so that city departments can relocate into completed areas before other phases begin; interior construction is scheduled to begin in winter months with exterior and site work primarily next spring and summer. City staff said the remodel will allow the city to vacate leased office space and provide a larger publicly accessible meeting room downtown — an asset staff said the city lacks for larger gatherings and board meetings.

Public-safety leaders said the remodel will provide a dedicated “Station 1” downtown, improved public service counters (for fingerprinting and background checks), and staff wellness facilities such as a gym and nap rooms for shift crews. Fire prevention, records and archives units are planned to move into the complex alongside CPED (Community Planning and Economic Development) and other city teams.

Chief Dan Boysen said the building has housed public-safety operations for more than two decades with little significant renovation and that the new design will improve security and efficiency for both the public and staff. CPED director Christina Anderson said the project will also give planning and development staff a more public-facing, accessible location and a large meeting room with streaming and AV capability that can be used for city and community events.

The commission approved the package of contracts by majority roll call. Officials said they expect the first occupancy and move-ins next year as phases finish. The project will require standard pre-construction steps including coordination of department moves, background checks for certain roles and scheduling to avoid service interruptions.