Kalamazoo County Justice Center Top-Off Ceremony
KALAMAZOO, MI – The highest steel beam is in place for the new justice facility in downtown Kalamazoo.
Around 30 people gathered Thursday afternoon to watch a crane lift that final beam into place for the $95 million Kalamazoo County Justice Facility.
Before the beam was placed, Kalamazoo County commissioners, partners and trade partners signed the beam as a symbolic way of “signing off” on the job.
“A project this size – it’s the biggest thing Kalamazoo County has ever done,” Commissioner Mike Quinn said during the ceremony May 19.
Related: $95M justice facility construction is ahead of schedule, Kalamazoo County says
Construction started in May 2021 for the new home of Kalamazoo County’s courts at the intersection of Kalamazoo Avenue and Park Street. The five-story, 165,000-square-foot building is scheduled to be done in summer 2023.
Officials previously said it was time for a new courthouse because the current courthouse, 227 W. Michigan Ave., was finished in the 1930s.
Around 81,000 hours of work have gone into building the structure, M.W. VanderVeen Company Founder Jerry VanderVeen said. More than 90% of the tradespeople working on the project are local hires, Kalamazoo County Administrator Kevin Catlin said.
There have been some issues but every project the size of the new justice center has problems, VanderVeen said. In April there were 21 workdays and 12 of those days were impacted by rain, so projects like pouring concrete, CSM Group Vice President Brian Beaver said.
A 71,000-pound generator was scheduled to be placed Friday, May 20, Beaver said. Enclosing the building is expected to start June 1 and the roof is expected to go on in mid to late June, he said.
“I would be remiss if I did not say a vital thank you to the tradespeople working on this project,” Catlin said. “This day is all yours, seriously.”
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