Midland County Courthouse renovation project underway

By Kelly Dame Midland Daily News MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) -- A project to renovate the area next to the Midland County Courthouse has gone without a hitch. Better yet, it brought with it an unexpected peek into history. Kevin Beeson, Midland County facilities director, said the project that began in the fall with the demolition of the east wing jutting out from the historic Midland County Courthouse and the old Midland County Jail went well. Construction of a new sally port and inmate holding cells at the bottom of the hill, next to the courthouse parking lot, is on schedule as well. The jewel of the project has turned out to be what was uncovered when the Friend of the Court wing was dismantled: An area on the east side of the courthouse with the original stonework, arches and windows. The colors of the wall match those of the fairly recently restored exterior of the courthouse, Beeson pointed out. "When we tore it down, we had no idea what we'd find," Beeson told the Midland Daily News (http://bit.ly/1gaPkVG ). "They just set another building up right next to it. This is what people saw up until 1957." The wall was built in 1927, he said. Plans for restoration of the area include finding someone to manufacture replacements for three steel frame windows, and restoring the stone archways. "The public will see more of what the historic part of that building was," Beeson said. A goal of the changes to the space next to the courthouse is to clean up the view -- including that of the Midland County Veteran's Memorial, which has been renovated. What Beeson is hoping people won't notice is the new sally port and inmate holding areas, which are nearly completed. The 3,500-square-foot area is meant to temporarily and securely house Midland County Jail inmates who are scheduled to appear in court. There are five cells that can hold a maximum of 25 people, and include concrete benches and stainless steel toilets -- the same as at the jail. "It's a secure area. It's a lot like the jail," Beeson said. The series of buildings are attached to the courthouse and are set to be operational in 30 days. "The outside might not be done, but the inside will be," thanks to pre-planning, which included ordering heavy jail doors and specially made locks ahead of time. "In the design on this new building, we tried to keep it as low profile as we could," he said, adding it is meant not to obstruct the view of the Tittabawassee River from Main Street. The idea is to complement the courthouse and The H Hotel. "It's just a utilitarian building ... We don't want you to really notice it." Once the construction is done, plans for the rest of the area call for grass and maybe some shrubbery. Three foundations -- The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, The Dow Chemical Co. Foundation and Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation -- donated $700,000 each to the project, which also included renovating the fourth floor of the Midland County Services Building. The total cost of the project was $2.8 million, with the county also contributing $700,000. Beeson said the project is on budget and without any hiccups thus far. Published: Tue, Feb 18, 2014