City of Benton Harbor Awarded Grant For City Hall Improvements
City of Benton Harbor Awarded $100,000 Grant For City Hall Improvements
The City of Benton Harbor has been awarded a $100,000 Community Energy Management grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). This grant will support improvements being made to the City Hall building.
Built in 1937, the city's historic city hall was made possible by United States Government bonds approved by citizens during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt and a generous gift of Mrs. Henrietta P. Avery, who was a Benton Harbor resident that gave multiple significant gifts in the early 1900’s.
The construction of the current City Hall was a part of what's widely known as The New Deal, or more specifically the Works Progress Administration (WPA) a nationwide initiative by President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression. The program employed millions across the United States to carry out public works projects including the construction of many public bridges, roads and buildings.
Since then, City Hall has stood as a gathering place for city business and community gatherings. In June of 2018, Mayor Marcus Muhammad and the Benton Harbor City Commission renamed City Hall the Dr. Wilce L. Cooke Municipal Building in honor of former Mayor Dr. Wilce L. Cooke.
The $100,000 Community Energy Management grant will cover contractual work to better insulate the building from weather and seal the envelope of the building. A contractor will examine the brick walls and where the roof and walls connect to locate areas where water may be seeping in. When this occurs and freezes it creates more damage. By tuck pointing these places, further damage is prevented.
City Manager Alex Little said, “This is another great project that the city is working on to revitalize some of our older buildings. City staff and the commission have been working hard to keep our city moving forward.”
The city commission formally accepted the grant on August 4, 2025 during the city commission meeting.
For more information, please contact Nicholas Gunn at 269-470-0570.
