The Hinman Company and InterAct of Michigan team up to construct a new “Green” office building in Downtown Kalamazoo.
June 9, 2010 
Kalamazoo, Michigan – On Tuesday, May 11, 2010, at 11:00 a.m., The Hinman Company and InterAct of Michigan broke ground on a new facility for InterAct in downtown Kalamazoo. InterAct is a non-profit agency that provides vital services to people with diagnoses of mental illness and/or other co-occurring physical, developmental, or substance use disorders. Their mission is to ensure and enhance the quality of life and treatment for citizens whose lives have been disrupted by the chronic problems and symptoms of mental illness and/or other disabilities.
In attendance at the groundbreaking were Roger Hinman, President and CEO of The Hinman Company, Claudia Wink-Basing, Director of InterAct, City of Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell, Steve Ryder from First National Bank, and many members of the Hinman and InterAct teams, as well as city officials and members of the community.
InterAct currently operates its business out of multiple locations. Its main office, up until recently, was located at 610 S. Burdick Street in a circa 1900 former residence that has been altered over the years to accommodate offices.
InterAct has been a tenant of The Hinman Company since 1991 and, according to Rich MacDonald, Chief Operating Officer of The Hinman Company, Hinman has been working with InterAct since 2001 in an effort to find a solution to InterAct’s growing pains. Nearly 10 years later, that solution has been found and the two companies’ have teamed up to demolish the old facility and design and construct a new, two-story, 24,000 square foot, LEED Certified building at the 610 S. Burdick Street site. This project will allow InterAct to finally house under one roof their current staff of 110 employees, allowing for future growth of 10 full-time employees to approximately 120 full-time employees working in downtown Kalamazoo. Roger Hinman, President and CEO of The Hinman Company, thanked Rich MacDonald and the rest of the Hinman team for bringing this project “from an idea on paper to the groundbreaking effort.” Mr. Hinman also praised the efforts of Stephanie Hinman, who joined The Hinman Company in 2008, for bringing LEED to Hinman and the InterAct project. Under Ms. Hinman’s direction, it is anticipated that the new InterAct building will be LEED Certified Silver.
Claudia Wink-Basing spoke about how Interact of Michigan began and how The Hinman Company believed in InterAct’s idea and supported them over the course of their 20-year relationship. Interact started out as ACT, a non-profit organization with only 200 clients. InterAct of Michigan now serves 1300+ members of the community with mental disabilities and substance abuse issues.
This project is supported by incentives from the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority of the City of Kalamazoo and the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) Brownfield Redevelopment MBT Credit. Andy Wenzel, Director of Development at Hinman, spearheaded obtaining approvals for these incentives, without which this project would not have been economically feasible. Mayor Bobby Hopewell spoke about the efforts of Hinman to work with city leaders to bring a new building into the downtown area, and how good it was for the people of Kalamazoo and the businesses. He praised the teamwork of all involved, stating that, “It may be raining outside, but the sun is shining in Kalamazoo right now.”
The old office building at 610 S. Burdick has been completely demolished. Remaining true to their green building initiative, Hinman indicates that more than 718 tons of the old building’s materials were reused and/or recycled. This is equivalent in mass to 120 average-sized elephants. Construction of the new facility is set to begin in the next few weeks.
