AUDIO: New Kalamazoo County courthouse to open Monday

KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM)  —  The media got a chance to tour the new Judge Charles A. Pratt Justice Center in downtown Kalamazoo, and while it may lack the look of your traditional courthouse, it makes up for it in convenience and environmental sustainability.

County Administrator Kevin Catlin says staff has been waiting for this for years, and are glad to be moving in.

The building has clerks offices and the district court on the lower floors and the circuit courtrooms and the prosecutor’s office on the upper floors.

All of the courtrooms are decked out with up to date technology to present evidence and record trials.

It brings all the functions of their two downtown courthouses into one building.

This will be an easier building to maintain because of ambient lighting from a central shaft, improved HVAC systems, south facing glass and other design features.

Catlin says they have managed to bring it in on budget, at just under $94-million despite all the manpower and supply chain shortages they have faced.

It opens to the public on Monday, when some of the first hearings are scheduled.