Police department renovations architect hired

By Grace Lovins

Several long-awaited updates to the Birmingham police station inside city hall at 151 Martin Street are on the horizon after Birmingham City Commissioners approved the selection of MCD Architects to begin designing a new and improved police garage, interview room and dispatch center, along with a new sally port, during the Monday, October 6, meeting.

Renovations to the police station and city hall building have been brought to the commission’s attention at various points over the past few years. As stated in the meeting packet, city hall has not seen any major renovations since 1993. The push for renovations to the city’s police station originated with concerns over the police department’s ability to remain accredited by the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.

According to police chief Scott Grewe, assessors expressed concerns over the safety and security of the department during their 2024 accreditation process, which, they said, could impact their future accreditation. Grewe said the commission had previously discussed the necessary projects during long-range planning and the budget hearing earlier this year.

The city issued a request for proposals (RFP) in July to hire an architectural firm for design and construction services. Grewe said the RFP included design work for all four items, but the construction is split into four separate construction projects. The police garage and interview room renovations were included in the current budget.

Commissioners collectively agreed they were thankful to see updates coming to the police department. Mayor pro tem Clinton Baller, on the other hand, brought up the commission’s previous discussions about the police department and city hall as a whole.

Baller noted that further exploration of ideas on what could be done for both city hall and the police department didn’t happen at the commission level. He said the renovations to the police department don’t address the issues for the city’s other departments inside the building.

City manager Jana Ecker countered that during the meetings when the topic was discussed, the commission did not seem ready to move forward with one large, expensive project and instead thought breaking it down into smaller parts would be better. She said the city’s building official has been tasked with creating a comprehensive list of items to be addressed throughout the building and their priority level so the city can continue to renovate in small increments.

Commissioners voted unanimously, 7-0, to approve the agreement with MCD Architects for designing the police department renovations and expansion.