By Gari Voss
Wayland Union School District has a new Administration Building that is far more than office space for central office staff. The official ribbon cutting on Monday, November 10, 2025, gathered representatives from TowerPinkster (the design team), Triangle (the construction team), Wayland Union staff, and community members who braved the weather to cut the ribbon then tour the new facility.
Superintendent Tim Reeves and his staff shared, “This moment marks a new chapter for our district, one where all department directors are finally under one roof, ready to better serve our families. But more than that, this building represents something special for our entire community. From Leisure Life programs and athletic banquets to professional development and community events, this new space was designed for all of us.”
To better understand the relevance of having a facility that not only is the heartbeat of the Wayland Union School District but a community gathering point, a tour is required. The building had originally been built by Michael DeWeerd for his dentist office. An expansion was done to accommodate the University of Michigan Medical Services. When Dr. DeWeerd built a new office next door to the existing building and UofM built a much larger facility closer to US131, the building sat empty.
This building had wonderful office spaces with large windows, an unfinished basement that had ground level entrances, and lots of possibilities. Thanks to the current Bond, the building was purchased in July of 2024. The design process was completed by TowerPinkster and bids went out in December 2024. The Board approved the project in March 2025, and Triangle Construction began the work.
The beauty of the project is that the building was in great condition. “Rather than take the 1.3 million to renovate the building across the street,” explained Reeves. “We elected to take that money and redo the basement here because we got a bigger, better bang for our buck.
“We could not add any more space in the previous building to accommodate 19 people who were housed in 6 different locations. So, bringing 19 people together plus making room for Leisure Life that had outgrown the meeting space in the bus garage was part of the thought process. Having community room spaces became a focus for the renovation of the basement.”
Walking the upstairs halls reveals bright office spaces plus a kitchenette area for breaks, an area for stand up meetings and another meeting room. Business and accounting occupy one wing, the other halls accommodate instructional directors – special education, early childhood, technology; the communication specialist; then operational teams – food service, facilities, and safety director.
The downstairs showed the creativity of the designers to have community activities. Originally, a community room would have been added to the old administration building. With the new building, there are several community rooms, a kitchenette area, and 5 ADA compliant restrooms. These areas can be reserved by contacting the administration office at 269 792-2181.
“Though this was not a top priority of the Bond,” shared Leslie Wagner, Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations. “It fit in right between the pool getting started and the design stage for Series 2 work going on in the high school which will start next week. Series 2 will be a new band room attached to the Fine Arts Center, updated orchestra and choir rooms, the refined Tech Automotive space, CTE, and the old pool will be turned into some sort of gymnasium and field house. We are still working on the specifics, but it will be some sort of athletic space.”
“We want people to know that if they want to use the space in the basement for community rooms, they can,” said Reeves. “People can park in back and go right into the basement area, so they do not have to come upstairs. We don’t need an elevation which would have been additional money.”
“The community voted on the names of the gathering rooms,” explained Wagner. “They have historic significance – The four room names downstairs are the Lumberton Room, Chamber’s Corners, Dahlia City Room, and Heritage Trail Room.”
“We’re deeply grateful for the continued support that made this possible,” shared Reeves. “We’d love for you to see it for yourself!”
