30 Years of Building Together at Frederik Meijer Gardens

Some partnerships are measured in projects. Ours with Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is measured in decades. Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. helped build Frederik Meijer Gardens when it first opened in 1995, and 30 years later, we are still building alongside them. Our latest chapter together is the refresh of the Lena Meijer Children's Garden, a space that has invited curiosity and imaginative play since it first opened in 2004.

"Our history with Frederik Meijer Gardens actually goes back 30 years to when it opened in 1995," said Jeremy Amshey, Chief Operating Officer at O-A-K. "That's something that we're very proud of."

Here is a look at what the project has accomplished so far, and what is still to come.

A Garden Reimagined

After more than 20 years of welcoming children and families, the Children's Garden was ready for new purpose and new energy. The goal was to refresh the space while bringing new and exciting experiences to the garden, and Phase One delivered exactly that.

The centerpiece is Big Girl, a 20-foot-tall interactive bronze sculpture by celebrated artist Tom Otterness. With two slides and room to climb, the piece invites children to make art hands-on and playful. Big Girl also joins a familiar face at the garden. Longtime visitors will recognize Otterness' Mad Mom sculpture nearby, and the artist positioned his new work so that Big Girl now stands in the line of Mad Mom's watchful gaze. The sculpture sits on a soft, synthetic turf that keeps safety front and center.

"If kids fall off here, we want to have a safe, comfortable landing zone," said Dave Fleece, Project Manager at O-A-K.

Indoors, Phase One transformed former back-of-house space into Mary's Ice Cream Parlor, a year-round spot serving Hudsonville ice cream, a dairy-free option, baked goods, and more, with patio seating that looks out onto the pond and the Big Girl sculpture. The addition has proven wildly popular with visitors. "The community's really embraced it," said Pete Crawford, Vice President of Capital Development and Government Affairs at Frederik Meijer Gardens. "So we're excited to have it as a fixture here with the Children's Garden."

Throughout the work, most of the garden stayed open, allowing families to keep visiting while the improvements took shape around them. That kind of coordination, keeping a beloved public space running while construction continues, is at the heart of how we approach every project.

What Comes Next

The project was originally planned in three phases, but the team made the decision to complete the final two phases in a single construction season. The remaining scope is less about newly reimagined spaces and more about refresh, maintenance, and upkeep, the work that keeps a garden thriving for the next generation of visitors. That work includes enhancements to beloved areas like the Treehouse Village, the Rock Quarry, and the Log Cabin.

Built to Last

For 30 years, we have been proud to help Frederik Meijer Gardens create spaces that bring people together. From the day the gates first opened in 1995 to the newest additions in the Lena Meijer Children's Garden, this is a partnership rooted in shared purpose and a shared community. We look forward to what we will build together next.

Video Credit Taproot Pictures

Photo Credit Ashley Avila

We are proud to announce that Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. (O-A-K) is opening its first office in the greater Lansing market, marking another step in our thoughtful growth across Michigan.

We have signed a lease on new office space at 1595 W. Lake Lansing Road in East Lansing, and plan to formally open the location at the end of summer. O-A-K is headquartered in downtown Grand Rapids, with additional offices in Caledonia, Kalamazoo, and Traverse City, Michigan, as well as Naples and Fort Myers, Florida, and Castle Rock, Colorado. We employ 250 people across all of our locations and recorded $531 million in total revenue in 2025, according to Crain's Grand Rapids Business.

Our success has always been rooted in the expertise, judgment, relationships, and commitment of our people. We have been building in Michigan for 135 years, and that history reflects, more than anything, the strength of the people and partnerships behind every project we take on.

"Most of our clients like to have somebody local," said Frank Stanek, PE, President and CEO of O-A-K. "Working in the community, living in the community, and having offices in the community was really essential for us. Finding the right person to start up that office was also a key essential."

Expanding into Central Michigan is a natural next step. Clients O-A-K has worked with for years are active in the region, employees already live there, and trade partner and community relationships are already in place. Opening an office in East Lansing lets O-A-K deepen those relationships and gives partners the experience of working with O-A-K people who are members of their own community.

O-A-K will continue its focus on K-12, higher education, healthcare, government, and aviation clients as it grows in the greater Lansing area.

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The Right Person to Lead the Way

O-A-K recently named Tom Shanley to the newly created role of Director of Central Michigan Operations, where he will lead the East Lansing office. Shanley has spent most of his construction career working in the central and eastern Michigan regions, with experience at The Christman Co. and MIG Construction, and most recently as an owner's representative at Kramer Management Group.

Shanley is in the process of hiring a small East Lansing based staff of three to five people, who are expected to be working out of the office by the end of the year.

"We'll be continually growing our team as we go," Shanley said. "A lot of our field staff work out of mobile trailers and those types of things, but we want to be able to have touch down spaces to bring our teams in to talk, do safety trainings, and collaborative type things."

The office sits immediately east of U.S. 127, giving the team easy access to Shiawassee, Genesee, Livingston, Jackson, and Clinton counties.

"We feel pretty strongly that we can definitely help in this area," Shanley said. "The model that we have, it travels well, but we need that presence."

Meet Tom Shanley

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Built on Partnership

What sets O-A-K apart is the ability to advocate for the client, from the earliest stages of Preconstruction through the final days of a project. The team brings cost certainty and operational planning to complex, technically demanding work, giving partners the tools they need to make informed decisions at every stage. That approach does not change when O-A-K enters a new market. It travels with us.

As a 100 percent employee owned firm, O-A-K's people have a personal stake in every outcome. That is not a slogan, it changes how we work. When team members live in the communities they serve, that commitment deepens, and it shows up in every client relationship, every trade partner conversation, and every project delivered together. Guided by partnership, we are determined to build the best experience.

Become our Trade Partner

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Second Stop on a Bigger Map

East Lansing marks O-A-K's second recent investment outside of its home base in Grand Rapids. The company is also building a new office in Kalamazoo, at property it purchased last year in Western Michigan University's Business, Technology and Research Park. The 8,700 sf office is set to break ground this fall and open in early summer 2027.

Our Michigan Locations

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Read the story on Crain's Grand Rapids Business

Where West Michigan Comes to Play | The Meijer Sports Complex Expansion

Ten years ago, the West Michigan Sports Commission broke ground on a vision. On May 11, 2026, they cut the ribbon on the next chapter of it.

Since opening in 2015, the Meijer Sports Complex in Plainfield Township has drawn athletes and families from across the country, quietly becoming one of West Michigan's most reliable engines for sports tourism and community recreation. But for WMSC President Mike Guswiler and his team, the original vision was never fully complete. A winning streak campaign and the right partnership brought that vision back to life.

O-A-K returned as Construction Manager to help make it happen.

"We wanted to build upon what we started," Guswiler said at the ribbon cutting. "We saw the Meijer Sports Complex producing the sports tourism we were looking for, but also serving as a community asset. So we brought O-A-K back to the table and said, 'Let's improve what we did.'"

The $13.5 million expansion adds the Alro Steel Championship Softball Field as its centerpiece, a signature venue designed to rival the facility's existing Boss Family Championship Field. The field features a canopy, press box, bleacher system, and lighting built for evening tournament play. Aquinas College's women's softball team already called it home during their spring season, and it will serve youth leagues from 8U and up alongside adult amateur and collegiate competition.

Rounding out the expansion: 20 new pickleball courts, two flex-use diamond fields, bullpen facilities, a concession building, restrooms, a playground, and 300 additional parking spots.

For O-A-K Project Manager Jared Gauss and his team, the project carried the weight of a returning partnership and a community that had been watching the complex grow for more than a decade.

"It was an exciting project," Gauss said. "The level of detail that went into this facility, from the bullpens to the bleacher system to the canopy and press box, everything was designed to put on a great tournament event."

The expanded complex is projected to welcome 200 additional teams annually and generate an extra $1 million in visitor spending for the region each year. For a facility that already returns roughly $90 million in annual economic impact on a $2.6 million operating budget, the expansion represents something more than square footage. It represents a community that keeps investing in itself.

"Our donors are going to be as pleased as we are with the result," Guswiler said.

So will the families, the athletes, and the teams who will call this place home for years to come.