Kraemer Design selected for historical project

By Grace Lovins

As part of a Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant application for Birmingham, the city commission on Monday, June 3, selected a Kraemer Design Group as its consultant to assist with a cultural resources survey of S. Eton Street.

According to the city’s planning director Nick Dupuis, the city had applied for the TAP grant back in September of 2023, requesting $1.2 million for the project, a few months after the city commission approved a new design for S. Eton. A condition of the commission’s approval of the new design was that the city would seek funding for the project through a TAP grant.

TAP grants, per the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) website, use federal transportation funds designated by Congress for specific activities that enhance the intermodal transportation system and provide safe alternative transportation options, and these funds are administered through the MDOT.

Dupuis said MDOT is supportive of the project in concept, but they would like to see a historical survey of the area to ensure there are no issues between the new design and any potential historic buildings in the neighborhood.

The city released a request for proposals (RFP) for the historic surveying work and received two responses, from Kraemer Design Group and The Grassroots Historian. Due to the significant cost difference and the content of the proposal, Kraemer Design Group was selected to be brought before the commission.

Kraemer Design Group – not to be confused with Kramer Management Group which is also currently working with the city – is an architecture, interior design and consulting firm with offices in Detroit, Toledo, Ohio and Charleston, SC.

The group has worked on historic projects across the state, including a historic resource survey for the city of Kalamazoo, African American Housing in Inkster, and the Edison Historic Neighborhood Survey for the city of Kalamazoo. They also helped the city develop the historic district guidelines that were completed in 2023.

The commission voted unanimously, 7-0, to approve the agreement with Kraemer Design Group for work not to exceed $19,880.