Wednesday, September 10, 2003

Nine months after pledging to produce lawyers in West Michigan, Cooley Law School is taking a major step toward creating a campus south of Van Andel Arena.

School officials, developers and other local leaders celebrated a groundbreaking today at 38 Oakes St. SW.

The $20 million project, headed by Rockford Construction, is part of an effort to revitalize the once-blighted Cherry Street Landing district.

The construction is scheduled in four phases and should be completed by 2006. It will include renovations of two buildings -- the former H.H. Cutler Co. building at 38 Oakes and the Durfee building to the south -- and a 33,500-square-foot addition to connect the two.

The site is critical to Cooley's bid for American Bar Association accreditation to operate a branch campus in Grand Rapids. The ABA will not grant final approval until the school has secured a location and has a law library in place.

Developer John Wheeler said he is confident "in the ability of Cooley to live up to the expectations of the ABA."

Cooley has a 20-year lease with an option to purchase the property from Rockford Development.

The law school plans to move into the lower level of the new facility in January when the first phase of the project, including the library, is expected to be completed.

In the meantime, Cooley is leasing space from Western Michigan University at 200 Ionia Ave. SW, through 2007.

"With the increasing demand for legal education in West Michigan, it was clear to us that Grand Rapids was ready for a law school," said Don LeDuc, Cooley president.

When the nearly 100,000-square-foot school is complete, it will be able to handle 900 students, but Cooley officials say they are planning for about 600.

For Wheeler, the Cooley project is another piece of his vision for a downtown renaissance.

"The whole Cherry Street Landing area has turned into a dream come true," said Wheeler, chief executive of Rockford Companies, the parent of Rockford Construction and Rockford Development.

In 1998, Wheeler joined Peter Secchia and bought 13 abandoned buildings south of the arena. "It was scary for us," Wheeler said. "We didn't have a single tenant."

Mayor John Logie, a lawyer, is pleased that students won't have to leave West Michigan to get a law degree.

"It was a bold and ambitious adventure that they charted," Logie said of the developers.

LeDuc said he hopes to have ABA approval by the time the school moves into the new building. Cooley welcomed its first local class of students in May.

According to ABA guidelines, Cooley can offer up to 15 credit hours in Grand Rapids without full accreditation. But the school is allowing students who started the program in May to go above the limit without penalty.