After years of debate and exploration regarding the housing of the 15th Judicial District Court and Ann Arbor Police Services, in 2004 City Council took action to deal with this long-standing issue. In February 2006, the County informed the City that its 15th Judicial District Court’s lease at the County Courthouse would not be extended beyond December 31, 2008.
City Council and staff reviewed dozens of possible Court and Police locations in and around the downtown, analyzed a multitude of proposed solutions, formed an independent task force to make a recommendation, listened to and sought out a variety of public input and spent countless hours investigating affordable building alternatives to address the space needs of the court while also creating much needed space for the Ann Arbor Police Services.
Years of public process and input resulted in the recommendation to build the proposed 15th District Court and Police Facility on the west side of the current City Hall located at 100 N. Fifth Ave. The current Larcom building and the new 15th District Court and Police Facility would become the Ann Arbor Municipal Center.
The timeline below aims to explain the many years of consideration, exploration and action that have taken place to resolve this long-standing issue.
Timeline
The detailed timeline below aims to explain the many years of consideration, exploration and action that have taken place to resolve this long-standing issue.
- June 21, 2004: Council approves a professional services agreement with Plante & Moran CRESA, LLC for an operational review and space needs analysis of the 15th Judicial District Court.
- Oct. 11, 2004: Plante & Moran CRESA, LLC issues a space analysis summary for the 15th District Court and Police Services stating that existing facilities are at or beyond capacity.
- Dec. 12, 2004: Council appoints an ad hoc committee to review Plante & Moran space needs analysis.
- August 2005: the City issued a request for proposals for architectural services for a Court/Police facility.
- Dec. 5, 2005: City Council passed a resolution requesting that the County extend the 15th Judicial District Court County Courthouse lease, which expires on Dec. 31, 2008.
- Feb. 1, 2006: the County grants an extension of the 15th Judicial District Court lease until Dec. 31, 2009. Michigan State Law mandates the City of Ann Arbor to fund and house the 15th Judicial District Court.
- Feb. 21, 2006: the City Council formed a Community Security and Public Space Task Force made up of representatives from the Planning Commission, DDA, City Council, 15th District Court, the Ann Arbor District Library, city administration, and two at-large members.
- Nov. 27, 2006: City Council held a public hearing regarding the Community Security and Public Space Task Force’s recommendations.
- On January 8, 2007: City Council approved a resolution directing City Administrator Roger Fraser to proceed with planning and design of a new building on the Larcom lot, the current site of City Hall, to house the 15th District Court and Ann Arbor Police Services.
- May 21, 2007: City Council approved a resolution for a professional services agreement with Quinn Evans/Architects for the planning and design of the 15th District Court-Police Facility.
- June 2007: the project was officially kicked off with a new advisory committee including representatives from city staff, including Police Services; City Council; DDA; Quinn Evans/Architects; and the 15th District Court.
- Oct. 22, 2007: Council approved the second phase of the contract with Quinn Evans/Architects to develop a final design and detailed plans for the 15th District Court-Police Facility project.
- Spring 2008: The design development phase was completed after a series of public meetings to introduce the project and master plan and to gather feedback on the project's vision and phases of the building design. Public input meetings were held on July 24, 2007, Sept. 25, 2007 and April 30, 2008.
- Fall 2008: The construction-bid process was completed.
- Spring 2009: Construction scheduled to begin and continue for approximately 24 months.
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