DESIGNING SACRED SPACES THAT SUPPORT COMMUNITIES
Civic + Government
Kent County Road Commission Central Complex
About Us Firm Introduction Hobbs+Black Architects, founded in 1965, is one of the top 10 largest architectural firms in Michigan and nationally recognized as one of the Top 300 Design Firms by Architectural Record (2019). Over 70 dedicated professionals provide architectural, interior design, and related consulting services from our offices in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Lansing, and Phoenix. Our diversified practice meets design challenges that often require extensive research and innovation. As a full-service architecture firm, we provide our clients with
Interior Design
complete support from conceptual study to
The Hobbs+Black Interior Design Studio has an
construction administration, including the
award-winning portfolio exhibiting projects from a
following:
diverse group of clients that span several business
Facility Audit and Site Analysis
sectors. Our ability to successfully resolve and
Site Planning, Design, and Zoning
surpass the goals of our clients stems from our
Facility Programming
approach.
Master Planning Architectural Design Space Planning
Core Values
Contract Document Development
Smaller Teams
Interior Design and Procurement
It’s the pizza principle: don’t have meetings
Signage Design and Implementation
larger than you can feed with one pizza.
Relocation Management
Trust & efficiency trend as a result.
Post Occupancy Evaluation LEED Design and Management
Share Work Bigger ideas in rougher layouts, weeks
Project Experience & Approach
sooner, results in deeper collaboration.
To achieve success in today’s market, each project must be approached with a focus on balancing scope, quality, and budget as well as creative planning. To achieve this objective, the owner’s participation in the design process is critical. Our design team knows buildings, but only those who manage and operate your existing facilities on a daily basis know every detail of how a new facility will be used. In a dynamic process, we combine your ideas and knowledge about your operation with our expertise and vision of design. The result is a solution that is strategic, affordable, and comprehensive.
Emotional Logic We believe people must feel something before they do something. It’s why we wrap strategic messages with emotional truth. Further Faster When you add these people-powered components together, your project flies with less jet fuel. Practical Strategy Strategy should be based on human truths, project pllars and applied with simplicity.
Michigan State Police Consolidation Project Grand Rapids, Michigan The Michigan State Police (MSP) Consolidation Project plays an integral role in meeting the strategic goals established by MSP for the area served by the Grand Rapids Forensic Lab, 6th District Headquarters, and the Rockford Post. This project brings these units together into a single, modern law enforcement facility, thereby allowing MSP to realize administrative/staffing, operational, and functional efficiencies while decreasing the costs and administrative inefficiencies associated with maintaining and operating multiple dispersed aging facilities. The consolidation project provides MSP the opportunity to better serve and provide leadership, innovation, facilitation, and program support in partnership with all the public and private organizations for the 2.2 million people currently directly served by these three MSP units, both now and through the foreseeable future.
State of Michigan Public Health and Environmental Sciences Lab Dimondale, Michigan The State of Michigan is preparing to move into
The project is anticipated to provide sustainability
the future with a new Consolidated Laboratory
features to achieve LEED Gold status without
program, replacing existing aging and obsolete
formally submitting to USGBC for certification.
facilities. The new lab complex will be the home to
Public health labs are changing. World public
four state agencies: MDHHS, MDEGLE, MDLEO,
health events – natural and man made – infectious
and three state agencies. The project site is
diseases to biological terrorism are becoming more
located on the west side of Lansing, MI at the
common in our media. The changing environment
southern intersection of I-96 and I-69, adjacent to
of public health requires a different approach to
the existing state facility campus in undeveloped
the design of public health labs. The labs designed
land. The lab is anticipated to be 304,800 sf with
in the past are already challenged with
construction cost stated to be approximately
obsolescence. Even by the time your building is
$170M and total project cost of $260M (factoring
constructed, it will already be outdated in many
the exclusion of the existing co-gen plant work
ways. The world is changing faster than we can
and tunnels in the original estimate).
design and construct buildings. This project is designed in conjunction with CannonDesign
City of Lansing Public Safety Building Lansing, Michigan During the November 2022 election, the voters of the City of Lansing approved a tax increase to fund a capital improvement project of 175 million dollars to update and build a new Public Safety Building and Complex for the Police Department, City Lockup, 54-A District Court along with administrative and probation services, Fire Administration, Fire Marshal’s Office, Fire Training Facility, and a new Fire Station No. 9. The new public safety campus will be located in the 2400 block of South Washington Avenue on land adjacent and north of the existing South Washington Office Complex (SWOC) that the City of Lansing has purchased from McLaren Healthcare Corporation. Fire stations Nos. 2 and 8 would be renovated to update living quarters, safety standards and gender-inclusive facilities. We, in partnership with BKV Group, were selected to design the project in October 2022. Prior to our selection as the Design Team, the campaign team estimated that the election only had support of 40% of the electorate. The Design Team, Construction Manager Team, and Owner’s Representative team all provided their expertise and experience in passing referendums to the City. We provided expertise by touring the existing police and fire facilities to understand existing conditions and potential messaging, participating in weekly campaign calls with the team, attending key community meetings with the mayor, and developing collateral materials that would be incorporated to the website, palm cards, and literature used for the 6,000 door-to-door canvassing. The Design Team members, including our consultants actively participated in canvassing. The referendum passed with a 55% approval rate of the 35,722 votes cast.
City of Lansing Firestation #2 Lansing, Michigan Lansing Fire Station #2 has served the northwest side of the city since 1962, providing a critical presence for the residents of the area. When the time came to improve the facility, the goal was not only to meet current operational needs, but to ensure the station could continue serving the community for decades to come. The station was originally planned as a renovation and expansion of an existing two-story facility. As the project progressed, the team explored an alternative approach, reimagining the facility as a one-story, drive-through station. With this, the team was able to create a more efficient and functional design while still fitting within the constraints of the irregularly shaped 0.79-acre property. The site features two apparatus bays and 8-bunk accommodations for the firefighters, providing a modern environment that supports emergency response operations 24 hours a day. The drive-through configuration improves apparatus movement and safety, while the single-story layout enhances accessibility, functionality, and long-term durability. Today, Lansing Fire Station #2 stands as an investment in the future of public safety for the City of Lansing. What began as a renovation project ultimately became an opportunity to create a facility better equipped to support the firefighters who serve the community every day.
Livonia New Police Station City of Livonia, Michigan Construction of a new 2-story police station to be located across from the existing 16th District Court building. First floor to consist of a 2-story front lobby with access to a community/training room that can be utilized by the public. The central core to consist of locker/toilet rooms for male and female Staff and Leadership. Other areas making up the first-floor footprint include Evidence storage/processing, CSU lab, inspection bay, intelligence and SWAT bays, sallyport leading into the booking and holding cells, maintenance bay to service patrol cars, Fitness center with outdoor break out area for outside workouts, defensive tactics room, records, and briefing/squad room. Second floor consists of the recruiting office, traffic department, detective bureaus, reserves, leadership offices, emergency operation center (EOC), IT department, Dispatch, and honor guard locker room. A large kitchen/break room is located off the second-floor balcony that overlooks the lobby with an outdoor patio overlooking the complex. A large mechanical/electrical room is included to house HVAC equipment. A 160 car, 2 story parking deck is included with a temperature control first floor for vehicles and evidence storage and the second floor will be for staff parking.
Charlotte West Side Fire Station Charlotte, Michigan The City of Charlotte is split by the railroad running north and south through the middle of town. Due to this railroad location, the west side of Charlotte was in danger if a major fire broke out while the train was passing through town. To help service the west side of Charlotte, a piece of property was donated to the city for a new fire station. As a part of this project, Hobbs+Black provided the City of Charlotte with millage support services. The Charlotte West Side Fire Station is a new 17,000-square foot, masonry-constructed facility located in Charlotte, Michigan. The station features four drive through apparatus bays, one wash bay, and a hose drying tower with a practice stair. Other features include a 1,000-square-foot training and meeting room with kitchenette, and 1,000 square feet of administrative space containing five offices. The residential spaces support two sleeping dorms, each accommodating six people, as well as kitchen, dining, living, and laundry facilities. Additionally, the new station houses an exercise room, locker room and showers, storage room, kitchen, food pantries, compressor room, tank filling station, and dispatch center. The facility is supported by an emergency generator.
Commerce Township Hall Commerce, Michigan Rather than build new, the Township acquired the 23,000-square-foot Links of Pinewood golf course clubhouse and banquet facility, which was adapted, renovated, and slightly expanded to provide a new government administration center for Commerce Township. Features of the new one-story, 24,048square-foot facility include a sky-lit central atrium with public access to the county departments including clerk, inspectors, treasury, and file assessment, as well as a large board meeting room, council meeting rooms, and staff support spaces. The use of natural light, energy efficient heating and cooling systems, and many “green” design solutions were incorporated into the new facility design.
Bath Township Fire Station & Master Plan Bath, Michigan A new fire station was designed for Bath Township as a direct result of a space needs study and master plan that Hobbs+Black completed. The study involved the entire existing township complex, including the fire station, police station, town hall, and senior center. The new facility is used by an all-volunteer fire department and houses 10 pieces of equipment, administrative staff offices, training room, kitchen, radio dispatch, and storage rooms. Designed for expansion, the apparatus room includes a 90-foot drive-through bay that will accommodate future ladder trucks and two 40-foot apparatus bays for medical response equipment. A number of smaller apparatus bays provide space for secondary equipment such as a rescue boat and trailer, brush rig, and a reserve truck. The building also has been designed to add sleeping quarters for full-time fire fighters in the future. The remaining facilities will be phased in over time.
Kent County Road Commission Central Complex Grand Rapids, Michigan Kent County Road Commission (KCRC) is the second largest road commission in Michigan, serving 21 townships and more than 635,000 residents. KCRC purchased a 29-acre parcel in the Walker View Industrial Park to build a new headquarters as well as a garage/storage building. They had outgrown their Central Complex facility, built in 1924, and had no room to expand. We were chosen to provide architecture services for the development. The new Main Central Complex consists of a: 25,000-square-foot administration office building, 135,000-square-foot vehicle parking & maintenance garage, a 6,000-ton salt barn, a 5,500-square-foot vehicle wash building, an 18,500-square-foot storage building, and a fueling station with canopy. Additionally, we completed all associated site development for the new operations complex, including all geo-tech and franchise utility coordination.
WR Wheeler Service Center Ann Arbor, Michigan Located on a 46-acre former landfill in Pittsfield Township, this new Service Center contains an Operations Building that houses offices and shop areas, a maintenance building dedicated to vehicle repair, and a vehicle storage building for vehicle parking and equipment storage. The site also includes ancillary support services, including a fueling station, truck wash, storage bunker, parking and storage canopy, and a salt dome. The project incorporates many “green” elements of sustainable design into the building, including an organic green roof that serves to improve water quality by retaining and filtering rainwater.
Washtenaw County Road Commission Northeast Service Center Ann Arbor, Michigan The new WCRC Northeast Service Center
The new facility includes a service bay, parts and
includes the development of a new 15-acre
tool storage, lubrication fluid storage, storage
parcel for the road commission’s regional
mezzanines accessible by an overhead crane,
operations. Planned site features include a fuel
wash bay, and 13 parking stalls, including spaces
depot, truck scale, outdoor material storage
for eight tandem axle snow plows and a tow
yard, future brine well, an approximately
plow.The new facility includes a service bay, parts
3,000-ton salt barn, and the construction of a
and tool storage, lubrication fluid storage, storage
new 29,690-square-foot vehicle parking and
mezzanines accessible by an overhead crane,
light maintenance facility.
wash bay, and 13 parking stalls, including spaces for eight tandem axle snow plows and a tow plow.
Michigan State Police Headquarters Lansing, Michigan The Michigan State Police Headquarters is a state-of-the-art office and energy-efficient building that presents a monumental and civic presence. The central location in downtown Lansing, Michigan, provides a strong and welcoming community interface, while the hardened structure, containment wall, and highsecurity parking lot provide critical safety needs. A collaborative team approach was used to successfully meet the project objectives of the complex program, tight timeline, and budget constraints, with environmental awareness informing the entire design process.
Start a Conversation Martin Ruiter Senior Vice President mruiter@hobbs-black.com O: 734.663.4189
Ann Arbor Headquarters 100 N State Street
Phoenix Office
Ann Arbor, MI 48104 7975 N Hayden Rd, 734.663.4189 Ste D365
Scottsadale, AZ 85258 Lansing Office 480.485.5575 117 E Allegan Street Lansing, MI 48933 517.484.4870
Detroit Office 2111 Woodward Ave Suite 700 Detroit, MI 48201 313.356.5787 Phoenix Office 7975 N Hayden Rd Ste D365 Scottsdale, AZ 85258 480.485.5575 Grand Rapids Office 1425 Coit Avenue NE Suite 1435 Grand Rapids, MI 49505 734.663.4189