First Phase: New 15th Judicial District Court-Police Facility
The proposed Court and Police facility will be a new five-story, 103,000-square-foot building on the west side of the current Larcom City Hall building, plus approximately 19 spaces for secure parking at grade. Above the parking are two floors for Police and two floors for the 15th District Court. The major public entry will be from the entry plaza off Huron Avenue and from the north entry court off Ann Street.
The project's first phase includes building a new facility to house the 15th District Court and the Ann Arbor Police Services. Currently, the City of Ann Arbor leases space in the Washtenaw County Courthouse for use by the 15th District Court. This lease expires on Dec. 31, 2009, and is not renewable. By law, the city is responsible for housing the 15th District Court, and, thus, City Council and staff were tasked with finding a new location.
The Larcom building will still be used as the main City Hall building and will become known as the Ann Arbor Municipal Center. Phase One entails the building of the Court-Police Facility.
The Supreme Court Administrative Office Standards for Court Facilities and Security can be found at http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/resources/standards/#std.
Second Phase: Basement and First Floor City Hall Renovations
The second phase of construction will include the renovation of the basement and first floor of the current Larcom building. The basement will then accomodate new police locker rooms and meeting areas. The first floor will house the Customer Service Center, Information Technology Unit, Planning and Development Services Unit, Community Services Administration and a revised lobby area. The building is being designed to be consistent with benchmark green building practices and proposed design guidelines developed by the A2D2 task force.
The Larcom Building Phase Renovation includes the basement and first floors, addition of two new traction elevators, some foundation work to accept future stair additions, the public meeting room alternate and minor renovations to the sixth floor. The basement will house police lockers and storage, mechanical equipment and a small conference center, while the first floor is dedicated to public areas including expanded main lobby, restroom, customer service center and public services administration. Secure parking will remain at the existing police garage. The sixth floor will accommodate staff relocating back to the City Hall from leased space. The public meeting room would be included in phase one if, either the constructions bids are favorable, or sufficient other funding is identified to cover the costs.