How is Arcadia Creek controlled? Is it just that the banks are so high, or is it seperated from the Kalamazoo River in some other way?

Lansing got pummeled, too. Fortunately, the major commerical areas of the city sit above the floodplain, but there are certainly parts of these areas still in it. Another half a foot or so and we'd have had extensive damage downtown. From the MSP.

Downtown

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWq3OHTXcAArSxp.jpg

Old Town

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWq4OUNWAAAd33_.jpg

REO Town

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWqwb6yX0AAf032.jpg

The worst is always on the eastside, though.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWqpeb-W4AEE8vr.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWqskq3X0AAKzz2.jpg

Michigan State University

http://expo.advance.net/img/8c09f1aa...505_flood7.jpg

http://expo.advance.net/img/839df5d6...edd_flood5.jpg

Still tons of damage, and a lot of evacuations on the eastside.

Anyway, really excited to hear about the development across from Arcadia Creek Festival Place. It sounds like it's really going to interact with the street, well.

There has been a series of recent projects to stabilize the banks and increase the capacity of the creek west of downtown, along the railroad tracks and near WMU, where much of the stormwater load comes from. New wetlands and runoff areas have also been constructed to allow greater drainage before the water gets downtown. As it moves through downtown, it is primarily controlled by the high concrete walls and a massive culverts through Arcadia Commons that can accommodate a high volume of water movement. Once it hits the Kalamazoo River, east of downtown, there is a grade change to stop the River from back flowing into the Creek, but I'm not sure how much. When not in flood stage, the water in the creek is usually 1 ft or less. It's definitely higher right now, but seems stable.

Yeah it looks like Lansing got it pretty bad, combined effects of Grand River and Red Cedar spilling their banks. You may have already seen these photos on MLive, of folks Kayaking around MSU - pretty wild -

https://3jehka-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none

https://6tehka-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none

Must be at least 3 - 4 feet of water in that ballfield. South of here, Three Rivers got hit hard too - aerial from Thursday -

https://6tgina-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none
Source: NVHUSC Photography / Facebook

Grand River in Grand Rapids peaked yesterday - denizens there were largely spared worse damage by just a few inches, like Lansing. Flooding looks like it will not be quite as bad as 2013 was there -

https://3zhrpg-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none
Source: MLive

• Video Link

Agreed! I've been hoping for some news of something big here. There were some conceptual renders a few years ago, back when it was a different developer considering the same site. At that point, it was only a 3-4 story option. I also think that the nearby site at the corner of E Michigan Ave. and N Edwards St. (former Wendy's, former-former American House / Park-American / Harris Hotel site) is just begging to have a 7-8 story mixed-use structure. We will see...It sounds like the city is completely on board, along with DKI, so hopefully this doesn't hit too much opposition, although I am already hearing the usual NIMBY complaints - this will eliminate parking, this will kill the festival place, this will create a 'canyon effect'...but these concerns are not well-grounded in reality -

• As proposed, it will actually provide a net parking increase, and I think there's a strong chance that given the land deal with the city, some of the parking provided in the building will be publically available to offset the loss of surface lots. There is also a 'plethora' of under-utilized decks within a few blocks' walking distance too, operating at 30% or less capacity.
  
  
• Festival Place has been on a downhill plunge with organized festivals leaving left and right for more affordable venues for years now. Bringing more residents and businesses directly adjacent will better activate the large commons area.
  
  
• The canyon effect comment made me laugh - seriously? A canyon effect? In Kzoo? we're talking an 80 to 90 ft tall building max., with a 40' R.O.W. with another 10' - 20' buffer for sidewalks etc. between it and the actual park. More than 50% of the festival place will still be surrounding by surface parking, including the south edge.

Well that explains it. I wasn't aware the grade was so much higher through downtown that at its discharge into the Kalamazoo River. Because if it weren't, it being so channelized through downtown would be perfect for shooting that water back west and flooding the area west of downtown and downtown itself.

The record high for flood levels was set on Friday, and again on Saturday, as the river continued to rise through Saturday night / early Sunday morning, finally peaking at 11.69 feet around 1:30am today. This is about a 7" increase over the previous record amount of 10.94 feet, set in 1947. Waters are slowly receding now, but major flood stage is expected through at least Monday morning. MDOT has E Michigan Avenue, King's Highway, and parts of Riverview Drive all closed, along with many local streets. Parts of the city look to have 4 feet or more of water. Photos / video from Saturday -

• Video Link

Amtrak still running over the E. Michigan Ave. Viaduct -
https://tr0pna-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none


Fully submerged vehicle near the viaduct -
https://tb0pna-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none

View towards Mills Street, from E. Michigan Ave -
https://q70pna-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none

Near Veteran's Park -
https://s736pq-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none

Bike path under E. Michigan Ave. near Veteran's Park -
https://rl0pna-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none

Here are the observations and predictions for the river levels, as tracked by USGS -
https://ul0pna-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none
Source: MLive / USGS

Road Closures due to flooding, as of today (Sunday) -
https://tl36pq-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none
Source: Google Maps

The Exchange, 2/27/18 -
https://sr1fhq-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none

Bonus - 216-220 Michigan Ave, seen from same vantage point -
https://t71fhq-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none

Wow that's no joke. We're pretty lucky here in Michigan in the fact that we have relatively short rivers by North American standards at least so we don't have to worry about more water from out of the area coming in and exacerbating the problem.

Not to mention we only very rarely get large rain events and inch or two of rain here is a big deal while near the Atlantic or down south and even in the plains during spring time they all can rainfall totals that sound more like snowfall totals to us.

But as the climate changes being in the business of trying to forecast the weather is going to become an increasingly tricky business with increasing abnormalities becoming the norm.


My lil sister was there for the 2013 flood she wasn't affected but I do remember her talking about it must have been wild if it's worse than this one.

The upcoming City Commission meeting on Monday, 3/5 will be interesting. On the agenda is a recommendation from City Manager Jim Ritsema to remove the historic Fountain of the Pioneers in Bronson Park. The fountain, designed by modernist sculptor Alfonso Ianelli in 1940, depicts a Native American facing east and a white settler facing west and standing taller than the Native American. It was recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the city's own Historic Preservation Commission has been trying to raise nearly $3 million for a restoration (and they were about 3/4 of the way there).

The fountain is appreciated by some for its artistic qualities, but condemned by others for promoting racist ideology and the supremacy of the white race. In Kalamazoo, it has become a local symbol of the larger struggles for race equality that have been seen across the country. From the City Manager's report:

It is expected that the Commission will accept the recommendation fro the City Manager, clearing the way for the fountain to be removed after years of debate. If this happens, the 'best-case' scenario is that the artistically significant portions would then be put in storage until a more suitable location could be found for it, and the void left by the excised sculpture would be re-programmed for other uses.

My own personal opinion is that it should stay, but my expectation is that it will go. I understand how it can be perceived as interpreted as derisive of Native Americans (and more broadly, non-white races in general) but I think the point of the sculpture is to depict an ugly (but) true part of American history that should not be hidden or forgotten. There has been talk of moving it to a museum, but the KIA and Kalamazoo Valley Museum have both indicated that they do not have the proper space for it. I suspect that if it comes down, we will never see it re-erected, at least in its full form.

I think the bigger crime here is the estimated costs that the City has received to do something with it, as reported recently on MLive -

• Option 1 - Complete Removal and Reinstallation - about $2 million to dismantle and reinstall the fountain at a new site, according to a city staff report.
• Option 2 - Partial Removal & Partial Restoration - About $70,000 to $100,000 to dismantle just the offending part of the fountain, and then another $1.25 million to repair the fountain base.
• Option 3 - The 'cheapest option' - Full Demolition, no reinstallation - $75,000 to $100,000.

I've worked on a job where we demolished a 30,000 SF structure with heavily-reinforced 24" thick concrete walls for less than the 'cheap' option. It was not a historic sculpture, but it was an architecturally significant, mid-century building designed to withstand a nuclear holocaust. I think someone is taking advantage of the current racial tensions to rob the city blind of its public funds. If the vote to remove it happens Monday, I suspect many of those that donated to the HPC for restoration will demand that they get their money back.

My own photos from June 2017 -

https://g6bf9w-sn3302.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none

https://hqbf9w.sn2.livefilestore.com...&cropmode=none

Follow up to my previous post here -

In an over 5-hour long, emotionally-charged meeting that started at 8:00pm yesterday and ended after 1:00am this morning, the City Commission voted 5-1 in favor of removing the controversial Fountain of the Pioneers from Bronson Park. It took 5 hours to get through all of the public comments, with some for, and some against its removal. There were peaceful protesters and demonstrators in the lobby and on the outside steps of city hall. You can read more about it and view some photos here -

Some news today on the Vicksburg Mill project -

- There are a lot of complicated moving parts and many players involved with this proposal, and I'm not surprised to read that it could easily be 4-5 years before we actually see things at a stage where portions of the development are actually up and running for the public.

After an 8-month or so delay, "The Stamped Robin" has opened downtown. This was first mentioned here in June of 2017, post #77. The part of the article that describes the origin of the name is interesting -

Some random observations from driving around town today -

1. The Hooters in Portage has closed!

No word on what may take its place yet, but it apparently shut its doors end of February. Honestly, I'm surprised it lasted this long. It seems like the company's days are numbered, with the number of US locations dropping greater than 7% between 2012 and 2016. I never went there, and don't know a single other person that did either. This closure follows the recent closing of Panchero's, located nearby on S. Westnedge Ave.

2. Crossroads Mall appears do be doing well, but it's also a bit of a mess -

I've been to Crossroads Mall maybe three times in the nearly three years that I've lived here. That third time was today, when I had occasion to go clothes shopping (which has also probably only happened about 3 times in my life). I will say that as far as conventional, interior-oriented suburban malls go, this one seems to be doing well. It has a near-100% vacancy rate, a decent number of shoppers for mid-day work week, signs of new stores opening this Spring / Summer, and still four anchor tenants (Macy's, Sear's, JC Penny's, and Burlington Coat Factory). That said, the anchor stores feel disheveled and a bit of a mess, with a lot of merchandise strewn about the floor and unorganized on the racks.

3. There's a new coffee shop downtown Kalamazoo -

Located at the Corner of Rose St. and Kalamazoo Ave, across from the Amtrak Station. It must have had a very quiet opening, because I didn't hear about it. I didn't even catch the name of it as I drove past and still can't find anything online about it. Update: it is called Civil House Coffee Co. MLive did a story on it on March 16, 2018.

4. Lunch at 600 Kitchen & Bar in The Foundry -

Millennium Restaurant Group's newest endeavor, 600 Kitchen & Bar, opened a little while ago and we checked it out today for lunch. The food is good, the atmosphere is great. I like what they did with the place. Hopefully it will serve some small role in connecting Kalamazoo's east side to the downtown better, because there's currently an urban desert of roads, train tracks, and industrial uses between downtown and here that makes for a short but unpleasant walk. Preliminary site work for Phase 2 of The Foundry project has been underway for a while now.

https://tr2vbg-dm2305.files.1drv.com...&cropmode=none

As an aside, I stumbled upon these '10 Commandments of Westnedge Avenue' which are quite funny (and very true). If there are any other locals out there reading this, you may agree -

Source: K102.5

Lots of activity on The Exchange site today, with a large concrete pour happening. This will be the fifth level of the building (parking deck). There is also cold-form steel framing going in on the ground floor. Some photos -

https://ul22gg.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

https://t722gg.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

https://tb22gg.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

https://tr22gg.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

https://q722gg.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

https://rl22gg.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

https://s70bdg.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

I'm having fun imagining what this corner is going to look like with The Exchange completed, K-zoo keeps "growing up" so to speak and I like it. :cool:

Kalamazoo is a town that sometimes feels larger than it is, and other times feels a little too small. This project will do a lot to make it feel bigger. The intersection of Michigan Avenue and Rose Street is already the busiest pedestrian area of the city. Completion of The Exchange will make it even more active. It will be interesting to find out what eventually happens with the Courthouse across the street, if / when the new one gets built on Arcadia Commons West.

Regardless of opinion about the Architectural merits of the building, it can certainly be regarded as the most ambitious undertaking in the city right now. I think it is symbolic of this decade, Kind of like Kalamazoo Center (now the Radisson) project is for the 1970s, or the American Bank and Trust (now 5/3 Bank Tower) is for the 1920s, or even the Kalamazoo Building for the 19-oughts. And all three of those are within one block of each other (2 of the 3 can be seen in the above photo).

I really hope Kalamazoo can continue the process of growing its compressed downtown in all directions. There is so much potential for densification, through quality infill projects. A good example is the surface lot at Edwards and Michigan Ave. I hope someone with some ambition can make something positive come to fruition here, maybe something in the 6 - 10 story range.

I just realized that this little thread turned a year old on March 12! Thanks to everyone who has stopped by to read or contribute in the past year, even if just in a small way. 86,000 views, not too shabby for a town this small. Here's to year #2, and hopefully many more exciting developments in our small corner of the world -

https://tl0bdg.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none
Source: Postycards

Well...damn! How about this for an announcement to kick off the Spring?

Things are preliminary, and obviously some huge tax abatements are going to be under consideration. But if approvals for the pharmaceutical behemoth go according to plan (my guess is that they will) construction could begin this year and go on for the next 3 years.

The new facility would be at the corner of Portage and Romence Roads, due west of the recently completed cold storage warehouse expansion.

Edit: Another article, this one from MLive, about Pfizer's announcement. The MLive article says 140 new jobs initially (within 2 years) but 450 within 6 years. At an average salary of $90,000 +.

Only one developer put forth a proposal in response to Kalamazoo's RFQ issued last fall for its former fire station at 116 W Cedar St. (see Post #128 for more). The developer, Portage-based Hollander Development Corporation, submitted a preliminary concept to the city that involves demolishing the current structure and constructing a 6-story mixed use building with ground floor retail, second floor commercial office space (possible fitness or rehab function), and 40 - 50 affordable housing units on floors 3 through 6. There would be a partially-covered parking area, and a rooftop deck for residents. The concept currently has a $10.5 million estimate.

Private development of this area has long been sought by the city, which wants to create a stronger gateway to the Kalamazoo Mall from Southtown and the Vine Neighborhoods, and which also wants to see these lots returned to the tax payroll. This is all quite preliminary, and the developer has until the end of April to determine if it actually wants to make a serious offer on the property (two lots in total). They have partnered up with Byce & Associates for at least the conceptual work. If it goes forward, tax credits would be sought through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and HUD.

Concept Rendering:
https://7b8s9w.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

South Elevation:
https://pb8s9w.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

West Elevation:
https://978s9w.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Building Section:
https://9l8s9w.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Site Plan:
https://7l8s9w.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

First Floor Plan:
https://9b8s9w.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Second Floor Plan:
https://pl8s9w.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Third Floor Plan:
https://9r8s9w.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

Roof Plan:
https://878s9w.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none
Source: MLive | Courtesy Hollander Development Corp. / Byce & Associates Inc.

Preliminary renderings are out for Catalyst Development's planned 7-story, mixed-use, downtown building. This will be located at the Southwest corner of North Edwards and Water Streets (currently a city-owned surface lot). All signs point to this one moving forward quickly. Love the density. Not crazy about the design yet.

Edit: MLive's article on this also contains a small tidbit about plans for two other city-owned parking lots -

https://wevq3w.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

https://xuvq3w.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

https://xkvq3w.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none
Source: MLive | Courtesy Catalyst Development / Tower Pinkster

A few more renderings of the planned development mentioned in the previous post. These are screenshots taken from a WWMT News Channel 3 story on the subject.

https://9l9ncw.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

https://7lqofw.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none

https://97qofw.dm.files.1drv.com/y4m...&cropmode=none
Source: WWMT | Courtesy Catalyst Development / Tower Pinkster