By Jeremy Selweski
C & G Staff Writer

BERKLEY — One of the city’s oldest buildings could be getting a makeover.

Three months ago, the Berkley City Council hired an architect to conduct a feasibility study on its historic Fire Hall. Built in 1928, the 10,000-square-foot, red brick and limestone building is located directly behind the City Hall and 45-A District Court facilities, on Coolidge Highway, just south of 12 Mile Road. Its first floor has been the home of the Berkley Historical Museum since 1993, while the second floor is currently only used for storage space. Now, officials are hoping to make the entire building better equipped for city and public use.

“We want to look at what our best options are going forward,” said Steve Baker, secretary of the Berkley Historical Committee. “We want to not only celebrate and preserve our rich history but also make sure our heritage remains intact for generations to come. We’re trying to breathe some fresh life into the building and make sure that it’s open and accessible to everyone.”

A number of renovations are possible for the old Fire Hall, which served as the location of Berkley’s municipal offices for 30 years and its Police and Fire departments for 50 years before being designated a historic site by the state of Michigan in 1988. Although any future plans will depend largely on the results of the feasibility study, Baker said, some of the main issues involve making the building fully handicap accessible and installing modern heating and cooling systems.

The other primary goal is to determine the best purpose for the second floor, which presently is not open to the public. “Basically,” Baker said, “we’re looking at, ‘Can we do more than just use it for storage? Can we actually use it as a functional part of city government?’”

These questions still remain unanswered. But according to City Planner Amy Vansen, none of this work would even be possible if not for a $2,400 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. With federal funding at the city’s disposal, the first steps of the project could be taken, and on June 15, the City Council unanimously approved a $5,355 contract with the architectural firm Steven Auger & Associates to conduct the feasibility study.

Vansen is confident the space will be put to good use. She pointed out that the second floor could be converted into the new City Council chambers or other meeting rooms, and perhaps even a new office for City Manager Jane Bais-DiSessa.

“If we’re going to do this, then let’s do it right,” Vansen said. “Everybody talks about what a beautiful building that is, so we might as well make good use of it. Hopefully, we can present something to council within the next couple months.”

For Baker, it is very important the city devise a plan that would maintain some of the Fire Hall’s unique historical features — it still contains the old kitchen and restrooms used by police officers and firefighters, for instance, as well as a fire pole between the first and second floor — for a building that was once “a hotbed of activity” and which “served an integral function in the formation of the city.”

Still, he recognizes that it may be difficult to begin a potentially costly project like this at a time when Berkley, like all metro Detroit cities, is experiencing some of its most challenging budgeting decisions in decades.

“We have no clear expectations or requirements at this point,” Baker said. “It’s refreshing to think about revitalizing that building in order to serve the residents, but obviously, maintaining the services we provide today is paramount to our community’s long-term success. This feasibility study will give us some great options in planning for the future, just like a master plan.”

Vansen agreed, pointing out that the city is in no rush to get the proposed renovations off the ground. “This is not really anything too urgent — the Fire Hall has been sitting there for 30 years now,” she said. “We’re just looking at what we need to do to make it a useable space again. If we don’t have the money, then we don’t have the money. But at least if we decide to come back to it in five or 10 years, we’ll already have a plan in place.”