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The new $60-million Kent County Courthouse in downtown Grand Rapids represents much more than just an impressive
addition to the city's skyline-it also represents a long-awaited improvement for the county justice system.
Operations for the Kent County justice system were previously housed in a much smaller facility, with many
departments at separate locations. With the completion of the Courthouse this fall, however, all county court
functions, court-related operations of the Kent County Sheriff's Department, and other county offices have a
common home in the new complex.
The new Courthouse-designed by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, of St. Louis, and Tower Pinkster Titus of Grand
Rapids-is actually two parallelo gram towers, one 12 stories and the other 13 stories, that together provide
323,600 square feet of space. Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. served as Construction Manager for the facility.
Leach attributes the project's success to teamwork. "I've worked with a couple of real true teams in my life,
and one of those has been with O-A-K," he said. "I think from the perspective of a contract manager for a
governmental building, they worked for the taxpayers, as well as the county.
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They really did an excellent job as far as overseeing many of the contracts,
advising us along the way, and certainly added value to this project
that is not measurable."
Form and Function
The exterior of the courthouse features an elegantly patterned brick facade with champagne-colored glass and aluminum and a granite-clad main entrance. Underlying the building's aesthetic appeal is high-tech function.
Inside the courthouse are 20 courtrooms and 7 hearing rooms. Four television monitors on each floor display the day's docket. There are six public elevators, with separate, secure elevators for judges and security personnel and an elevator for transporting defendants from the holding cells to secure destinations. In addition, the building includes forty parking spaces on the basement level for judges and employees of the sheriff's department. More than 75,000 feet of copper piping, 44 miles of conduit, and 194 miles of wiring were used in the courthouse's construction. Security features include a state-of-the-art alarm system, cameras monitoring activity inside and out, and high-security construction in prisoner court holding areas. Large rolling metal doors can be used to lock down the building in the event of an emergency.
A Look Back in Time
In the midst of all this 21st-century function, the past hasn't been forgotten. The new building incorporates pieces of Grand Rapids history, most notably in the $150,000 clock tower designed by Tower Pinkster Titus. The clock face, the last from the original City Hall, was donated by the Grand Rapids Museum. The tower's bordering stone and corner elements are the actual stone elements from the old City Hall.
Also on display are door windows and a judge's desk and chair from the 1892 County Courthouse, which was torn down in the 1960s. The 12th floor offers spectacular views of the City, along with aerial photos of the area from the mid-20th century to illustrate before and after urban renewal.
Although original construction is complete and the courthouse is now fully occupied, work continues. "The Courthouse was designed with future expansion in mind," said Frank Bartoszek, Project Manager for Owen-AmesKimball Co. "We are currently planning for construction of several additional courtrooms."
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