$12.6M for renovations to Muskegon County Hall of Justice approved by county board

Muskegon County's Michael E. Kobza Hall of Justice is getting new windows and curtainwall that will replace small light blue exterior tiles. In this photo from June 2021, a crowd protests outside the hall of justice. (Cory Morse | MLive.com)

The Muskegon County Board of Commissioners meeting room on the fourth floor of the hall of justice will be remodeled, possibly for a fifth circuit court judge.

The sixth floor of the Muskegon County hall of justice is the only one that did not receive cosmetic upgrades during previous remodeling. (Lynn Moore | MLive.com)

The fifth floor at the Muskegon County Hall of Justice, like the floors below it, previously received cosmetic upgrades. (Lynn Moore | MLive.com)

Small aging tiles on the exterior of the Muskegon County hall of justice will be replaced with a new curtainwall. Windows also will be replaced.

Remodeling of the sixth floor at the Muskegon County hall of justice will be designed to promote safety and prevent skirmishes when defendants are escorted to courtrooms. In this file photo from 2019, a hallway fight outside a murder trial led to the arrests of two people.. (Lynn Moore | MLive.com)

Remodeling of the sixth floor of the Muskegon County hall of justice will be designed to eliminate having to escort defendants through judge's offices. In this file photo from 2020, Vashon Flowers is escorted out of the courtroom and into the offices of Circuit Court Judge Timothy Hicks after being sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife.

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MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI – Muskegon County is moving forward with an estimated $12.6 million in renovations to its Hall of Justice that include an exterior facelift.

Renovations also will be done to the building’s sixth floor, the only one left out of previous improvements, and the fourth floor. Completion is expected by the end of 2024.

The county board of commissioners on Tuesday, Jan. 17, approved spending $12.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for the building improvements that will coincide with a redo of the county’s new administrative campus on Marquette Avenue.

The county has hired Erhardt Construction of Ada as the construction manager to oversee the hall of justice work along with DLZ Michigan Inc., an architectural firm with an office in Roosevelt Park.

The improvements include:

  • Renovations to the fourth floor that should be completed by the end of October. They include repurposing the former county board meeting room into a courtroom for a new circuit judge. The estimated cost is $1.4 million.
  • Renovations to the sixth floor that will begin after the fourth floor is finished and expected to be done by the end of November 2024. The estimated cost is $4.6 million.
  • A new “curtain wall,” or exterior facing, of the entire building to be completed by the end of November 2024. Those costs are estimated at $5.5 million.
  • Other miscellaneous improvements that will improve security and operations and bring the building up to code.

The county building’s exterior curtainwall or “skin” -- which primarily is comprised of small blue-green tiles -- needs repairs to increase energy efficiency and fix what a facilities assessment determined was a “critical deficiency.”

The sixth floor was left out of renovations to the hall of justice that were completed 20 years ago. Plans are to improve security with back corridors to move inmates into the two circuit courtrooms on that floor.

It also needs carpeting, paint, restroom improvements and other upgrades the rest of the building received in the early 2000s.

The fourth floor will be remodeled to accommodate a courtroom for new Circuit Judge Matthew Kacel. His position, the fifth circuit court judge in the county, was approved by the Legislature last year.

The space previously was used as a meeting room for the Muskegon County Board of Commissioners, which has since been moved to the county’s new campus on Marquette Avenue. The campus had been used by Baker College, which continues to use a small portion of it.

The county board, also on Tuesday, agreed to seek an architect to design renovations at the Marquette campus, which it purchased for about $10 million last year.

ARPA money, of which the county received $33.7 million, also was used for the campus purchase.

County operations at its South Campus on Apple Avenue will move to the Marquette campus, including the health department, the treasurer, register of deeds and equalization. County administration has already moved there.

The county is seeking tenants interested in moving to the Marquette campus as well. The 300,000-square-foot campus is considerably larger than what the county needs.

The county intends to sell the property at the South Campus once it is vacated.

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