ADA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Ada Township officials are outlining next steps for a new town hall following a December 11 work session that included a preliminary presentation and resident feedback.
Long-Term Planning Process
The town hall project has been in development since 2019, when the township completed a space needs study with Integrated Architecture. The study identified that the current building space of 8,900 square feet isn't adequate for the township's current operations.
Township Manager Julius Suchy said the township has been methodical in its approach to finding the right location.
"We looked at our current site, we look next to the Amy Van Andel library, as well as the property at 7171 Headley Street, which is the property the township ultimately ended up purchasing," Suchy said.
The township has "been really intentional and tried to identify the right location for the township hall, and want to make sure that we're intentional about how we connect with the community and not building something that is too large or in the wrong location, but also helps, you know, kind of usher Ada township's continued growth in the downtown," he added.
Design Process Advances
The township received a presentation from Notre Dame during the recent work session, Suchy said. The session served as a follow-up to discuss potential concept designs for the future town hall.
The township contracted with Notre Dame to work on concept design for the township hall, as well as downtown corridor planning "just to make sure that we're planning for, you know, the next iteration of what Ada township looks like," Suchy said.
Notre Dame's team spent several days in August walking through downtown and exploring the architecture of existing buildings to identify what type of building would fit in downtown Ada for a potential township hall.
"There was a lot of feedback from residents just about making sure that building was adequate, not only for our current needs, but also future needs," Suchy said.
The township has been intentional throughout the process about "not building something that is too large or in the wrong location," he added.
Unique Architectural Approach
The township took a different approach than typical municipal building projects by engaging with Notre Dame's School of Architecture rather than immediately hiring a traditional engineer or architect.
"We wanted to engage with Notre Dame in their school of architecture to try to be a little bit more intentional about the design of the building as well as its connection to the rest of the downtown," Suchy said.
The design is likely to follow Notre Dame's traditional architectural style. "Notre Dame is architecture, school of architectural design is pretty traditional, and so I would anticipate that's going to be, you know, the draft renderings we've seen are pretty in line with pretty traditional building. It's not necessarily a modern building," Suchy said.
Funding and Size Questions Remain
Several key decisions still need to be made as the project moves forward.
"There's a number of steps the Township still has to identify throughout that process, including financing, funding of the building, honing in on the actual square footage," Suchy said.
Regarding funding, Suchy said the township has not made final decisions but indicated current plans would not burden residents.
"So I mean, the township hasn't made any decisions on funding yet, but what I would say is, I mean, the plan from the township, and what were looking at right now is to fund with our existing capacity. So it wouldn't be an increase for any township residents," he said.
The funding would come from "funds that either the township has generally right now in reserve or potential capacity for bonding over the next 20 years," he added.
The township has not yet identified a final cost, which will depend heavily on the building's size. "There's been conversations between 15,000, 16,000 square feet all the way up to 23,000 square feet," Suchy said.
He emphasized that discussing the larger size doesn't mean the township plans to build that large. "That doesn't mean that the township is planning on building a building that large, but we are looking at what options would serve the residents of ADA township best, as well as the staff."
What's Next
The next step is that Notre Dame will present a final report to the township board that will include a final concept design, Suchy said. He noted this differs from a final engineering design.
Once the report is received, the township has engaged Dixon Architecture to take the project to the next step, creating buildable plans that can go out to bid.
The final report will be available on the township website and open for public review, with additional public work sessions and listening sessions planned once it's completed. Suchy anticipates this will happen within the next month or two.
Staying Informed
Residents seeking more information about the township hall project can visit the township's website here.
Residents can also subscribe to updates by scrolling to the bottom of the website and clicking "subscribe," then selecting the township hall project to receive alerts about new information and potential meetings.
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