KALAMAZOO, MI — Development plans are set for review next week for a new career and technical school being built in Kalamazoo with funding from a $100 million donation.
Documents submitted to the city of Kalamazoo show the proposed educational facility, with a few three-dimensional renderings and virtual flights.
A site plan review is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 7 for the new Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency school at 3500 VanRick Drive, Kalamazoo’s Milwood neighborhood. It is next to the Wings Event Center and adjacent to Interstate 94 (I-94). The site plan review is a virtual meeting with the applicants and their representatives.
The 101,655-square-foot building will connect to the Wing Events Center parking lot with separate employee parking and another large parking lot.
Related: Plans have been released for a new job and technology center in Kalamazoo County
Greg Monberg, Whitman’s director of architecture, told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette that the building was designed with community input in mind. The goal is to help students get the skills they need to get quality jobs out of high school, he said.
“These are not concrete boxes,” he said of the design. Whitman is the project architect and DLR Group is the design architect, Monberg said.
The design helps to bring different areas of study together rather than separating them, for example dividing them into separate areas as in the past in some designs.
“This learning commons connects all programs for true sharing and collaboration, and the design is designed to support these kinds of relationships,” Monberg said.
Collaboratives such as agriculture programs can grow food that can be prepared and served in the food program, he said. Another idea, he said, is to create a collaboration between transportation and catering to create a food truck that can visit local high schools to serve as food for the school.
A discovery trail runs through the building, Monberg said. The design is meant to convey the message that society values students and their education, he said.
Plans include a greenhouse, welding yard, bus stop, reception area, transportation yard, construction yard, outdoor event space, outdoor plaza, industrial/event space and main entrance showing elements of the overall design. The plan also shows room for future expansion.
During the school day, the career center hosts high school vocational technical education courses only.
“Our students of the future need a world-class education that prepares them to graduate fully prepared, with in-demand skills, industry-recognized credentials and experiences that lead to successful careers.” Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency interim superintendent Tom Zahrt told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette on Aug. 30.
Related: Technical Education Center for Kalamazoo County Students Reveals Vision for New Career
Redesigning Kalamazoo County’s vocational education system will allow KRESA to provide a unique opportunity for diverse local students to match teachers with employers, he said.
“We are excited to bring educators, industry and community partners together to design a world-class system that fosters cross-disciplinary collaboration and engages historically non-traditional students, creating a brighter future for our community,” Zahrt said.
The Kalamazoo Regional Education Services Agency said the career center will be open to the wider community during after-school hours to provide job opportunities and skills training for adults and partner with local employers.
After a site plan review next week, the project will need to approve another site plan for construction, which is planned for later this year, Whitman said.
Citizens can provide input on the plans to the city by emailing siteplan@kalamazoocity.org.
The Kalamazoo Regional Education Services Agency shared a digitally rendered virtual flight tour of the site.
Donors to the school’s $100 million have requested anonymity, Southwest Michigan First said earlier, and have asked the economic development organization to act as a representative on the transfer of assets and funds.
The land was also given to the school. Public records show ownership was transferred from Catalyst Development LLC to the Kalamazoo Regional Education Services Agency for $0 in April.
Catalyst Development is the real estate development and management arm of Greenleaf Hospitality Group. Bill Johnston is president, CEO and chairman of Greenleaf, headquartered in Kalamazoo. Catalyst has owned the land since 2007. Wings Event Center is part of Greenleaf.
Course offerings at the planned career center are being designed to offer industry-recognized certifications and develop critical 21st-century skills such as collaboration, communication, problem-solving, critical thinking and autonomy, Southwest Michigan First said earlier.
The institute’s goal is to help students get into well-paying jobs after they leave the institution, earn enough money and advance in their career choices, said Whiteman’s George Kakan.
“This is going to give students a career that will provide them with a future,” Kakan said. He is the head of the project.
According to initial estimates, the new facility is expected to open in the fall of 2024. But it’s difficult to predict changes in the labor market, supply chain and other ways related to the pandemic that could delay construction, the Kalamazoo Regional Education Services Agency said on a page about the project.
New courses to be offered after the completion of the institute are recommended by the Management Committee to the KRESA Board of Education. Changes to the Vocational Technical Education curriculum will take effect in the fall of 2024, when the facility is expected to open.
According to Monberg, the work on the site is going to take place in September. Another approval is needed for the building’s site plan, Monberg said, and the building will be put up for bid in December.
Local employers are also working to provide and cooperate with the school with interest and resources, Kakan said.
“They see this as a pipe,” Kakan said.
A new school will be supported by a $100-million anonymous donation. Site planning for site work at the new Kalamazoo Regional Education Services Agency (KRESA) school is scheduled for Wednesday, September 7th. Project Design and Presentations Whitman is the project engineer and DLR Group is the design architect.
The October 2021 gift announcement is the third million dollar anonymous donation announced in the past year.
Anonymous donation commitments to various entities total more than $1 billion. Some amounts are received over several years.
In June 2021, anonymous donors gifted Western Michigan University $550 million.
The City of Kalamazoo announced in August 2021 that it has received a $400 million grant from the Foundation for Excellence, which will be structured at $40 million annually over 10 years and will be combined with $100 million already raised, for a total of $500 million in endowments to the fund. Johnston is one of the donors to the Foundation for Excellence.
The dollar amount for the new Kalamazoo Regional Education Services Agency school will exceed the cost of the $95 million Kalamazoo County Courthouse currently under construction. The courthouse is the largest capital expenditure the county has ever made, board chairman Mike Quinn previously told MLive.
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