In local news that is surprising to probably no one, on April 10 Portage City Council approved a massive tax break for Pfizer, as it plans a major sterile processing facility at its Portage manufacturing site.

Work has begun at Bronson Park to remove some other statuary, in advance of plans to dismantle the Fountain of the Pioneers. For now, the plan is that both of these spaces will be converted into open green space.

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Source: Wood TV

Concept Rendering
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Source: Wood TV | Courtesy Rendering

Bronson Park is one of the nicer central squares in the state; I've always been a bit jealous of it. :) I know it's very unlikely to happen since we just don't much do this anymore in this country, but a soaring monument would be such a great addition to the park, if even just a modern, scaled-down take on the likes of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monuments in Detroit and Indianapolis.

Really, I'd have just been for just reworking the fountain. But it seems that this was really just about using the fountain's controversial nature to remove something that costs a bit to maintain. Most of Lansing's downtown fountains got removed, and it was always put down to the cost of upkeep. The only reason the big historic one in Reutter Park has stayed is just that: It's big and historic and residents would have a fit if they removed it. Given that it was a gift, I bet their is probably some kind of deed restriction attached to it, too.

It is definitely an asset to the city. I agree that there was more motivation than racial tension that led to the demise of the fountain and the adjacent children sculptures. The 'Lunchtime Live' and Summer concert series really activate the space. The added green space for audiences will be good (the best seating locations having been where the water features stood). I only wish that the traffic of adjacent Park St. wasn't so close / so loud. It kinda makes having a covered band shell right there seem silly.

Removal of the main fountain is scheduled to begin next week. We'll see if it goes quietly.

The estimated cost to deconstruct the fountain is $225,000. Wightman & Associates conducted a digital scan of the fountain and photo documentation in March for the city archives and to aid in possible reconstruction efforts in the future.

Not Kalamazoo, but this should be a pretty big deal for Battle Creek's downtown. New Holland Brewing announced it plans to open a new brewpub at 64 W. Michigan Ave, right across the street from the Battle Creek Tower. The business will receive a grant from Battle Creek Unlimited to help with the renovation efforts in the former night club building. They will have less competition here than in Kalamazoo, which may or may not have had any bearing on the decision.

Some might recall that Arcadia Brewing closed its doors just a few steps down the street last year at 103 W. Michigan Ave. This apparently had more to do with structural issues in the building than business being down. From what I can tell, Arcadia still wants to retain a presence in Battle Creek and has been working on finding a new downtown location. Not sure why New Holland ended up with this space and this grant instead of Arcadia, for they certainly must have been looking at it as well.

Kalamazoo Gospel Mission has announced its intention to construct a new building downtown to serve women and children in need. If built, the new structure would replace four aging and dilapidated buildings along North Burdick St. At least two of these edifices looks to have historic merits, but the whole assemblage has been quite remuddled, and they are apparently in pretty bad shape and they are only utilizing about 10% of the space within these particular four buildings. I don't believe that they are beyond repair, but certainly prohibitive costs would be involved for an organization that depends mostly on donations to practice its mission of service to the homeless, hurting, and hungry. A new, cohesive building would likely serve them much better.

It's not a source of pride, but Kalamazoo has a disproportionate homeless challenge for a city of its size. Kalamazoo was recently called out as having the greatest concentration of homeless children in the entire state of Michigan, and the greatest percentage of homeless students. The Gospel Mission has raised more than $2 million already. The completed shelter expansion is expected to house nearly 200 women and children.

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Source: MLive | Courtesy Kalamazoo Gospel Mission / Schley Architects

Screen shots of floor Plans with some Photoshop skewing to counteract perspective of the camera angle (not super-great quality):

First Floor
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Second Floor
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Third Floor
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Source: WWMT | Courtesy Kalamazoo Gospel Mission / Schley Architects

MLive published a piece about some history that uncovered at the Peregrine 100 site. This property has been home to several different banks from the 1870s through just a few years ago, when PNC moved out. The current building was built in 1916-1917 for First National Bank. But when the former structure was demolished in 1916, some parts of it - like the south exterior wall and some plaster detailing - were believed to be saved and reintegrated into the new building.

Also unearthed is a series of old theater advertisements believed to be more than 100 years old, and ones that local historians suspect were for the extinct Fuller Theatre, which at one time seated over 1,500 patrons, but was sadly demolished in the 1950s. The posters were placed on a brick party wall that would have been exposed to the exterior, in-between demolition of the old structure an construction of the current building on the site.

When asked what the developer intends to do with the posters, he said that they will leave them exposed for the Hidden Kalamazoo tour this year and then cover them back up with new walls. I actually like this idea, because attempting to remove them in any way would probably damage them more, and it creates a kind of time capsule for future generations to discover.


The bank atrium in 1917 -
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Source: MLive | Courtesy WMU Archives and Regional History Collections

The atrium in 2018 -
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The exposed theatre artwork -
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Arthur Hammerstein presents...(before it was the famous Rogers & Hammerstein) -
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The basement bank vault -
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The exterior south wall, believed to be from the earlier building -
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Some plaster detailing, believed to be from the earlier building -
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A new apartment unit, in the remodeled upstairs (nice ceilings!) -
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All Images (except as noted above): Mlive | Mark Bugnaski

The controversial pioneer and Native American figures are gone now from Bronson Park -

• Video Link

Not quite Kalamazoo, but I associate Battle Creek more with the Kzoo thread than the general West Michigan one.

Just a few days after it was announced that Grand Rapids-based New Holland plans to open a Battle Creek location in 2019, with the help of a $200,000 grant, it has now been announced that a second brewery, plus some mixed-use-development, is also being awarded $200,000 by the same organization (Battle Creek Unlimited) to move into a beautiful old 3 story building downtown.

Did not bother to include the renderings here because they are quite underwhelming at this stage in my opinion, but you can see them on the article page.

Activity in Cereal City is trying to gain momentum. The potential brewery tenant is still TBD, but I wonder if Arcadia is being considered.

This was basically already a done deal when it was first announced, now it's just been officially approved by the Planning Commission.

Spring is finally in the air! Here are some updates from yesterday.

The Exchange is becoming visible from more angles / vantage points. This is one of my favorite views of the skyline, from the top of the Epic Center ramp.
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Also just starting to peak out from the Haymarket District parking lot.
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Partway done with the 7th floor pour. This is where the building transitions from parking ramp to residential.
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216-220 Michigan Ave. from the alley.
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Bronson Park. Alas, the fountain and statuary are no more.
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Site is cleared for The Foundry, Phase 2.
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Too bad this is all we will be getting. A big waste of a near-downtown site in my opinion.
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381-383 South Pitcher Street rehab is crawling along.
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The future County Health building looks amazing though.
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And the small dam nearby, beneath Alcott Street, that once served the paper mill is now gone.
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Meanwhile, restoration work on Portage Creek just south of the former dam is in progress. There are future plans to develop the land along these banks.
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Jumping to Portage. The new Stryker Corporate HQ, though not tall, is just massive in scale. Looking straight on at the main entrance.
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Exciting to see glazing going up already.
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Looking from the side opposite the main, public entrance. I guess you'd call it the back.
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Lastly, some Portage Schools updates. Here is the new Central High School Natatorium, which is nearing completion.
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Earth has been cleared for the new Central Middle School. Should start picking up speed soon.
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Northern Middle School is 'topped out'. This is similar to what Central Middle School will be like, in form and layout.
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Portage Northern's new football stadium, which should be ready in time for the fall season. This will mark a huge turning point for the school's athletics / football team, which will no longer have to play its home games at their rival's (Portage Central's) field.
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In a further effort to encourage some private development of affordable housing downtown, the city is trying to pass a resolution to define a two-block 'neighborhood enterprise zone'. If passed, this small area would receive additional tax benefits. Within this proposed zone, we recently heard about a proposed 6-story, mixed-use affordable housing development at 116 W. Cedar St. I'm guessing there's some conversation happening behind closed doors in an effort to make that a reality.

Kalamazoo Public Schools just passed their largest bond proposal in the District's history - $96.7 million for upgrades and new construction throughout the school district. Yesterday's vote wasn't a complete landslide, but a full 70% were in favor of the proposal, which involves a 1.25-mill property tax increase.

Nearby Gull Lake Community Schools also passed a $64 million bond proposal, for a 1.63 mill increase to property taxes. In fact, all over Southwest Michigan, the vast majority of school districts that had bond proposals on the ballot passed them. What this means in a nutshell is that most districts are trying to invest in their facilities (nearly $200 million total), most communities are majority in-favor of the investments, and we will see increased / substantial activity in school-related construction in the coming years.

In a big win for Paper City Development, MDEQ has announced that it will award the developer behind the massive Vicksburg Mill redevelopment $1.35 million. Most of that is a loan, with a $100,000 grant thrown in.

I noticed on Monday that Bierlien has begun demolishing this four-story structure at 251 E Lovell Ave. downtown (across from Bronson Hospital's main campus). I can find no information on why it is being demolished, or if there are any immediate plans for the space that will be created. If anyone knows anything, I'm curious. Initially, it looked like they were just doing abatement / remediation / remodeling. But now I think the whole thing is coming down because the demo work seems pretty indiscriminate. It certainly is not a beautiful structure, and has absolutely zero street level interaction along Lovell. I think it housed a combination of medical offices and WMU-related space most recently. It is on the original Upjohn Campus and maybe played a role for the pharmaceutical company back in the day (hence the blank streetwall).

Anyway, I took a few photos after work today -

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deja vu, are there any interesting projects occurring in Battle Creek besides the Heritage Tower renovation? There's a possibility I might be out in the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek area later this week.

I love those uncovered posters!

Nothing else very large-scale that I am aware of. If you go, you might see some activity downtown with storefronts being remodeled for new businesses. I doubt anything has started for New Holland's announced location yet (64 W. Michigan Ave). 15 Carlyle St. is also going to be getting a renovation, but I don't think it has started yet, since it was very recent news. There is a new Police Department HQ under construction that must be pretty far along. I need to get out there too. For being just 20-some miles away, I hardly go to Battle Creek. If you are there Friday / this weekend, there is the annual Spring into the Arts festival which might be neat.

Go to the Air Zoo, it's the best part of K-Zoo

Well...Damn! Apparently this project has quietly been in the works for three years. This will fill in a nice gap downtown (google streetview). This would be within the proposed two-block "neighborhood enterprise zone", which was recently pitched by the city. The property deal is contingent upon the creation of this zone. With the nearby four-story structure at 251 E Lovell Ave. coming down, I'd say this is a fair trade.

Some more info...


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Source: MLive (edited by me)

Thank you very much deja vu!

Seabee1526, I'd love to go to the Air Zoo. I've never been but always wanted to. I'll be on my way to Chicago though and probably won't have more than an hour or two around Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.